Season 1
004 - Arthroscopy vs Non-Op for Degenerative Meniscal Tears
003 - Weight-Bearing After Ankle Fracture Fixation
002 - Cast or Operate? Paediatric Wrist Fractures (CRAFFT)
001 - Cuff Repair Before Reverse Shoulder Replacement
In this episode of Ortho Appraised, Dr Rajabifard appraises "Arthroscopic meniscal surgery vs non-operative treatment for degenerative tears with mechanical symptoms: 5-year outcomes" published in the Journal of Orthopaedic Reports. The clinical question: for a degenerative meniscal tear with mechanical symptoms, does arthroscopic surgery beat non-operative care at five years? The evidence reinforces a non-operative-first approach. 📄 Citation: Zilani N, Tan J, Raj S, Maris A, Vasiliadis AV, Patel A. Arthroscopic meniscal surgery vs non-operative treatment for degenerative tears with mechanical symptoms: 5-year outcomes systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs. J Orthop Rep. 2025;100809. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jorep.2025.100809 Key Takeaways: * Systematic review and meta-analysis of 6 RCTs (n=1,157) reporting 5-year outcomes — a Level I evidence synthesis. * No clinically meaningful patient-reported outcome benefit from arthroscopic meniscal surgery over physiotherapy-led care. * Even the "mechanical symptoms" subgroup — the usual justification for operating — showed no durable advantage. * Risk of osteoarthritis was roughly doubled after surgery (OR 2.09, 95% CI 1.49–2.93). * Practice implication: structured exercise-based care is a sound first line, interpreting the pooled estimates alongside the usual between-trial heterogeneity. 🔗 Full paper: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jorep.2025.100809 Keywords: degenerative meniscal tear, knee arthroscopy, mechanical symptoms, meniscectomy versus physiotherapy, evidence-based knee surgery. New episodes every Sunday. Subscribe so you never miss one.
## Episode 3: Early vs Delayed Weight-Bearing After Ankle Fracture Surgery (Dehghan + WAX) In this episode of Ortho Appraised, Dr Rajabifard appraises two randomised trials on weight-bearing after ankle fracture fixation — Dehghan et al. in the Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma and the large multicentre WAX trial in The Lancet. The clinical question: after fixation of an unstable ankle fracture, is it safe to bear weight early rather than staying non-weightbearing for six weeks? Both support letting selected patients walk sooner. 📄 Citation: Dehghan N, McKee MD, Jenkinson RJ, et al. Early weightbearing and range of motion versus non-weightbearing and immobilization after ORIF of unstable ankle fractures: a randomized controlled trial. J Orthop Trauma. 2016;30(7):345–352. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/BOT.0000000000000572 — and Bretherton CP, Achten J, Jogarah V, et al. Early versus delayed weight-bearing following operatively treated ankle fracture (WAX): a non-inferiority, multicentre, randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2024;403:2787–97. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(24)00710-4 Key Takeaways: * Two RCTs paired: Dehghan (2016, ~100 patients) and the large multicentre WAX trial (2024). * Dehghan's return-to-work primary was null (51.2 vs 47.8 days, p=0.72), while functional recovery was faster with early motion. * WAX found early weight-bearing clinically non-inferior and highly likely to be cost-effective. * Practice implication: early protected weight-bearing is safe in appropriately stable fixed ankle fractures. * Both excluded the least stable patterns, so they offer least reassurance for those; a baseline return-to-work imbalance affected Dehghan's primary outcome. 🔗 Full papers: https://doi.org/10.1097/BOT.0000000000000572 · https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(24)00710-4 Keywords: ankle fracture rehabilitation, early weight-bearing, ORIF, WAX trial, orthopaedic trauma evidence. New episodes every Sunday. Subscribe so you never miss one.
In this episode of Ortho Appraised, Dr Rajabifard appraises "Non-surgical casting versus surgical reduction for children with severely displaced distal radial fractures (the CRAFFT Study)" published in The Lancet. The clinical question: in children with a badly displaced distal radius fracture, is a cast alone — no manipulation — as good as surgical reduction? The findings support offering a cast first for most children. 📄 Citation: Perry DC, Zimmermann A, Achten J, et al. Non-surgical casting versus surgical reduction for children with severely displaced distal radial fractures (the CRAFFT Study): a multicentre, randomised, controlled non-inferiority trial and economic evaluation. Lancet. 2026;407:1538–48. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(26)00409-5 Key Takeaways: * Well-conducted multicentre non-inferiority RCT — 750 children across 49 UK hospitals, with modern mixed-model missing-data handling. * Function at 3 months only trivially favoured surgery (ITT −1.64; per-protocol −2.07 on PROMIS), and the arms were level by 6 months. * Formally, non-inferiority of casting was "not demonstrated" against the −2.5 margin — but the difference is clinically negligible. * Practice implication: a cast without manipulation is a reasonable first-line choice for most, sparing anaesthetic and theatre time. * Outcomes are parent-reported and, unavoidably, unmasked; the completely off-ended subgroup is where casting is least certain. 🔗 Full paper: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(26)00409-5 Keywords: paediatric distal radius fracture, CRAFFT trial, cast versus surgery, children's wrist fracture, non-inferiority RCT. New episodes every Sunday. Subscribe so you never miss one.
In this episode of Ortho Appraised, Dr Rajabifard appraises "Effect of prior rotator cuff repair technique and timing on clinical outcomes of reverse shoulder arthroplasty" published in The Bone & Joint Journal. The clinical question: when a shoulder eventually needs a reverse shoulder replacement, does it matter whether the earlier rotator cuff repair was done open or arthroscopically, and how long ago? The findings are useful for counselling but are unlikely to change surgical decisions. 📄 Citation: Holt KE, Hao KA, Bindi VE, et al. Effect of prior rotator cuff repair technique and timing on clinical outcomes of reverse shoulder arthroplasty. Bone Joint J. 2026;108-B(7):928–935. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1302/0301-620X.108B7.BJJ-2025-1393.R1 Key Takeaways: * Retrospective single-centre cohort of 104 shoulders (Level III) — outcomes prospectively collected, exposure determined by chart review. * Prior arthroscopic repair was associated with a higher post-operative ASES score (+13.1) and range of motion than prior open repair. * The effect sits at or below the minimal clinically important difference, with a wide confidence interval — so clinical importance is uncertain. * Best used for prognostic counselling rather than to change how or when a cuff is repaired, or the timing of conversion to reverse replacement. * Confounded by surgical era and tear severity — arthroscopic repairs were, on average, more recent. 🔗 Full paper: https://doi.org/10.1302/0301-620X.108B7.BJJ-2025-1393.R1 Keywords: reverse shoulder arthroplasty, prior rotator cuff repair, ASES outcomes, shoulder replacement, orthopaedic critical appraisal. New episodes every Sunday. Subscribe so you never miss one.
Ortho Appraised is a weekly orthopaedic evidence podcast hosted by Dr Rajabifard, an orthopaedic registrar. Each episode takes a recently published journal article and breaks it down in plain terms: what was the research question, was the methodology sound, and — most importantly — should it change your practice? Every episode runs just ten to fifteen minutes, built for clinicians who are short on time: registrars preparing for exams, consultants staying current between theatre lists, and allied health professionals working in musculoskeletal care. The goal is to get you to the clinical takeaway fast — without skipping the methodological detail that decides whether a paper can actually be trusted. A note on how the show is made: the appraisal of the research is curated by me, an orthopaedic registrar from Melbourne in Australia, but the voice you’re hearing is A-I text to speech, used for consistency and efficiency. Evidence in brief. Practice in focus. New episodes every Sunday. Subscribe now wherever you get your podcasts, and you'll be ready when the first episodes land. Keywords: orthopaedic podcast, evidence-based orthopaedics, orthopaedic literature review, critical appraisal, journal club, orthopaedic registrar exam prep, musculoskeletal medicine.