Research at Clínic

The arthroscopy unit staff are members of scientific societies and actively participate as speakers and lecturers in national and international courses and conferences. They have led various lines of research applied to patient treatment thanks to research grants they have been awarded, as well as publishing in leading international scientific journals in this speciality.  

The main lines of research that have been carried out are:  

• Preservation and repair of the knee meniscus. In certain injuries it is possible to repair meniscus injuries rather than remove them, with the consequent medium and long-term sequelae.
• Use of dermal allografts from the Blood and Tissue Bank to treat rotator cuff injuries in the shoulder.
• Transplantation of osteocartilaginous allografts for knee cartilage injuries. Cartilage injuries are a serious problem as regeneration is not possible, causing serious consequences, especially in young patients.
• Arthroscopic latissimus dorsi transposition for irreparable shoulder rotator cuff injuries.
• Capsular distension in adhesive shoulder capsulitis. "Frozen" shoulder involves long periods of stiffness and subsequent recovery, but with this treatment these periods are considerably improved.
• Treatment of tennis elbow (epicondylitis) by arthroscopy vs. autologous biological treatments.  

Several doctoral theses have also been written in conjunction with the University of Barcelona (all with an excellent Cum Laude qualification) focusing on:

• The study of the anterolateral ligament of the knee in instability.
• Return to sporting activity after anterior cruciate ligament injury in the knee.
• Pie-crust technique applied to the internal lateral ligament in knee arthroscopy.

We have published multiple articles in international journals with an impact factor within our specialty; some from recent years include:

• Castells-Sala C, Pérez ML, López-Chicón P, Lopez-Puerto L, Martinez JIR, Ruiz-Ponsell L, Aiti A, Madariaga SE, Sastre S, Fariñas O, Vilarrodona A. Development of a full-thickness acellular dermal graft from human skin: Case report of first patient rotator cuff patch augmentation repair. Transpl Immunol. 2023 Jun;78:101825.
• Popescu D, Pomenta MV, Simion C, Neculau DC, Popescu IA. Combined Reconstruction of the Medial Patellofemoral Ligament and Medial Quadriceps Tendon Femoral Ligament in Skeletally Immature Patients. Arthrosc Tech. 2022 Dec 21;12(1):e59-e64. doi: 0.1016/j.eats.2022.08.058.
• Pomenta Bastidas MV, Sastre S, Segur Vilalta JM, Rios J, Sabater M, Popescu D. Quadriceps tendon vs hamstring autograft in primary ACL reconstruction – a comparative study with minimum two-year follow-up. Acta Orthop Belg. 2022 Jun;88(2):347-354. doi: 10.52628/88.2.7306. PMID: 36001842.
• Sastre S, Jornet-Gibert M, Yela-Verdú C, Portas-Torres I, Balaguer-Castro M, Miguela SM, Claret G, Brunet L, Torner P; OrthoCOVID-Cat Investigation Group. Iselective surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic safe? A multi-center prospective study in a high incidence area. Acta Orthop Traumatol Turc. 2022 Jan;56(1):14-19. doi: 10.5152/j.aott.2021.21153. PMID: 35234123.
• Juan M. Rodríguez-Roiz , Sergi Sastre-Solsona, Dragos Popescu, Jordi Montañana-Burillo and Andres Combalia-Aleu. The relationship between ACL reconstruction and meniscal repair: quality of life, sports return, and meniscal failure rate—2- to 12-year follow-up . Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research (2020) 15:361 . https://doi.org/10.1186/s13018-020-01878-1
• Jette C, Pomes J, Sastre S, Gutierrez D, Llusa M, Combalia A. Safe drilling angles avoid femoral tunnel complications during combined anterolateral ligament and anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 2019 Nov;27(11):3411-3417. doi: 10.1007/s00167-019-05388-4. Epub 2019
• Jette C, Gutierrez D, Sastre S, Llusa M, Combalia A. Biomechanical comparison of anterolateral ligament anatomical reconstruction with a semi-anatomical lateral extra-articular tenodesis. A cadaveric study. Knee. 2019 Oct;26(5):1003-1009. doi: 10.1016/j.knee.2019.07.005. Epub 2019 Aug 17.
• Sabater-Martos M, Chimeno-Pigrau C, Tornero Dacasa E, Sastre Solsona S, Isern Kebschull J, Popescu D. Placement of a polyurethane implant is not associated with a chondroprotective effect: comparative study with cases of isolated medial meniscectomy with at least five years of follow-up. Arch Orthop Trauma Surg. 2023 Jun;143(6):3213-3218. doi: 10.1007/s00402-022-04664-2.
• Rodriguez-Roiz JM, Sastre-Solsona S, Popescu D, Montañana-Burillo J, Combalia-Aleu A. The relationship between ACL reconstruction and meniscal repair: quality of life, sports return, and meniscal failure rate-2- to 12-year follow-up. J Orthop Surg Res. 2020 Aug 27;15(1):361. doi: 10.1186/s13018-020-01878-1.
• Claret-Garcia G, Montañana-Burillo J, Tornero-Dacasa E, Llussa, Popescu D, Combalia-Aleu A, Sastre-Solsona S. Pie Crust Technique of the Deep Medial Collateral Ligament in Knee Arthroscopy: Ultrasound and Anatomic Study. J Knee Surg. 2019 Aug;32(8):764-769. doi: 10.1055/s-0038-1668125. Epub 2018 Aug 15.