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Eliana Saltzman

Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery
Orthopaedic Surgery
Department of Orthopedics, Box 104002, Durham, NC 27710
311 Trent Drive, Durham, NC 27710

Selected Publications


Targeted Muscle Reinnervation at the Time of Major Limb Amputation Reduces Long-Term Use and Dependence for Opioid Analgesic Therapy: A Multicenter Propensity-Matched Study.

Journal Article Ann Surg · March 19, 2025 OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of primary targeted muscle reinnervation (TMR) performed at the time of major limb amputation on long-term opioid use, opioid dependence, and neuropathic pain medication use compared to standard amputation. SUMMARY BACKGRO ... Full text Link to item Cite

The Use of Nitinol Staples as Reduction Aids in Fixation of Forearm Diaphyseal Fractures: Surgical Technique and Case Series.

Journal Article Tech Hand Up Extrem Surg · March 1, 2025 Forearm diaphyseal fractures are common orthopedic injuries that typically require surgical intervention using various implants and approaches. Maintaining reduction while simultaneously achieving compression in radial and/or ulnar shaft fractures during c ... Full text Link to item Cite

Safety and efficacy of outpatient versus inpatient adult brachial plexus surgery.

Journal Article J Hand Microsurg · January 2025 PURPOSE: Outpatient orthopedic surgery is becoming more common as a method of providing safe and cost-effective medical care. The purpose of this study was to compare outcomes between adult patients undergoing outpatient versus inpatient brachial plexus su ... Full text Link to item Cite

A comparison study of 90-day readmission and emergency department visitation after outpatient versus inpatient pediatric pollicization surgery.

Journal Article J Hand Microsurg · January 2025 INTRODUCTION: Transition to outpatient surgery has grown with an emphasis on delivery of safe, high-quality medical care. The purpose of this study is to compare 90-day emergency department (ED) visits, readmissions, and complications between patients unde ... Full text Link to item Cite

Diagnosis and Management of Hand Infections.

Journal Article J Hand Surg Am · December 2024 Hand and upper-extremity infections span a broad spectrum of presentations for the hand surgeon, primary care provider, and emergency medicine practitioner. As many hand infections arise from penetrating trauma, knowledge of the offending pathogen, locatio ... Full text Link to item Cite

Injury prevention strategies at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup display a multifactorial approach and highlight subjective wellness measurements.

Journal Article J ISAKOS · October 2023 OBJECTIVE: To report the injury prevention programs utilised by top-level female footballers competing internationally. METHODS: An online survey was administered to physicians of the 24 competing national teams at the 2019 Federation Internationale de Foo ... Full text Link to item Cite

Current Concepts and Management of Upper Limb Amputees.

Journal Article J Hand Microsurg · September 2023 Full text Link to item Cite

Intraoperative angiography imaging correlates with wound complications following soft tissue sarcoma resection.

Journal Article J Orthop Res · October 2022 For soft tissue sarcoma patients receiving preoperative radiation therapy, wound complications are common and potentially devastating. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of intraoperative indocyanine green fluorescent angiography (ICGA ... Full text Link to item Cite

A Reliability Study of Multiplanar Radiographs for the Evaluation of SNAC Wrist Arthritis.

Journal Article Hand (N Y) · May 2022 Background: Scaphoid nonunion advanced collapse (SNAC) is a common form of wrist arthritis, the treatment of which depends on the arthritic stage. The Vender classification serves to describe SNAC arthritis based on a single posteroanterior (PA) radiograph ... Full text Link to item Cite

Relative Value Units Underestimate Reimbursement for Revision Shoulder Arthroplasty.

Journal Article J Am Acad Orthop Surg · May 1, 2022 INTRODUCTION: Relative value units (RVUs) have been fundamental to reimbursement calculations in payment models for arthroplasty surgeons. RVUs are based on various factors, including physician work, and have been higher for increased complexity, such as r ... Full text Link to item Cite

Overuse Elbow Injuries in Youth Gymnasts.

Journal Article Am J Sports Med · February 2022 BACKGROUND: Gymnastics is a unique sport that places significant loads across the growing elbow, resulting in unique overuse injuries, some of which are poorly described in the current literature. PURPOSE: To provide a comprehensive review of the unique ov ... Full text Link to item Cite

The Value Added of Advanced Imaging in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex Pathology.

Journal Article J Hand Surg Am · January 2022 PURPOSE: Pathology of the triangular fibrocartilage complex is a prevalent cause of ulnar-sided wrist pain that presents a diagnostic challenge. We hypothesized that a history and physical examination (H&P) would be more cost-effective alone or with diagno ... Full text Link to item Cite

Malnutrition in elective shoulder arthroplasty: a multi-institutional retrospective study of preoperative albumin and adverse outcomes.

Journal Article Journal of shoulder and elbow surgery · November 2021 BackgroundMalnutrition is associated with poor postoperative outcomes after knee, hip, and spine surgery. However, whether albumin labs should be part of the routine preoperative workup for shoulder arthroplasty remains understudied. This study in ... Full text Cite

Use of a 5-item modified Fragility Index for risk stratification in patients undergoing surgical management of distal humerus fractures.

Journal Article JSES Int · November 2021 INTRODUCTION: We hypothesized that the modified Fragility Index (mFI), which predicts surgical complications, would be applicable to surgical complications in patients older than 50 years with distal humerus fractures (DHF). METHODS: We retrospectively rev ... Full text Link to item Cite

A Cadaveric Study on the Utility of the Levator Scapulae Motor Nerve as a Donor for Brachial Plexus Reconstruction.

Journal Article J Hand Surg Am · September 2021 PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the utility of the levator scapulae motor nerve (LSN) as a donor nerve for brachial plexus nerve transfer. We hypothesized that the LSN could be transferred to the suprascapular nerve (SSN) or long thoracic ... Full text Link to item Cite

Opioid Prescription After Carpal Tunnel Release Is Declining Independent of State Laws.

Journal Article J Am Acad Orthop Surg · June 1, 2021 BACKGROUND: The opioid misuse crisis focused attention on opioid overprescribing prompting legislation, limiting prescribing. The purpose of this study was to evaluate of opioid filling surrounding carpal tunnel release (CTR) with the hypothesis that filli ... Full text Link to item Cite

Humeral intramedullary nail placement through the rotator interval: an anatomic and radiographic analysis.

Journal Article J Shoulder Elbow Surg · April 2021 BACKGROUND: Antegrade humeral intramedullary nails are an effective fixation method for certain proximal humeral fractures and humeral shaft fractures. However, owing to potential rotator cuff damage during nail insertion, shoulder pain remains a common po ... Full text Link to item Cite

Use of a 5-item modified Fragility Index for risk stratification in patients undergoing surgical management of proximal humerus fractures.

Journal Article JSES Int · March 2021 HYPOTHESIS: We hypothesized that the modified Fragility Index (mFI) would predict complications in patients older than 50 years who underwent operative intervention for a proximal humerus fracture. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the American College ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Trends in reimbursement for primary and revision total elbow arthroplasty.

Journal Article J Shoulder Elbow Surg · January 2021 BACKGROUND: Relative value units (RVUs) are an essential component of reimbursement calculations from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. RVUs are calculated based on physician work, practice expense, and professional liability insurance. Procedu ... Full text Link to item Cite

Role of high-resolution peripheral nerve magnetic resonance imaging in diagnosing median nerve tethering in a case of both-bone forearm fracture in a child.

Journal Article Pediatr Radiol · January 2021 Forearm fractures are common injuries in pediatric patients. We present a case of median nerve tethering as a complication of both-bone forearm fracture in a child, with an emphasis on MRI as an appropriate and important complement to clinical and electrod ... Full text Link to item Cite

Association of Claustrophobia and Anxiety with Cast Intolerance in Patients with Extremity Injuries.

Journal Article HSS J · December 2020 BACKGROUND: Patients undergoing casting for upper or lower extremity injuries may present with recalcitrant pain without an identifiable physiologic etiology, which increases the likelihood of more frequent or unscheduled office visits, insomnia, decreased ... Full text Link to item Cite

A Comparison Between Two Collagen Nerve Conduits and Nerve Autograft: A Rat Model of Motor Nerve Regeneration.

Journal Article J Hand Surg Am · August 2019 PURPOSE: To compare recovery in a rat model of sciatic nerve injury using a novel polyglycolic acid (PGA) conduit, which contains collagen fibers within the tube, as compared with both a hollow collagen conduit and nerve autograft. We hypothesize that a co ... Full text Link to item Cite

Evaluation of two collagen conduits and autograft in rabbit sciatic nerve regeneration with quantitative magnetic resonance DTI, electrophysiology, and histology.

Journal Article Eur Radiol Exp · December 2018 BACKGROUND: We compared different surgical techniques for nerve regeneration in a rabbit sciatic nerve gap model using magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), electrophysiology, limb function, and histology. METHODS: A total of 24 male New Zeala ... Full text Link to item Cite

Nerve Transfers for Enterovirus D68-Associated Acute Flaccid Myelitis: A Case Series.

Journal Article Pediatr Neurol · November 2018 BACKGROUND: Acute flaccid myelitis is associated with enterovirus D68 -induced inflammation and destruction of cervical anterior horn cells. To date, no medical intervention has altered the disease course. METHODS: We report two pediatric patients who were ... Full text Link to item Cite

Ideal Starting Point and Trajectory of a Screw for the Dorsal Approach to Scaphoid Fractures.

Journal Article J Hand Surg Am · November 2018 PURPOSE: To determine the screw starting point and trajectory for the dorsal approach to scaphoid fractures that provides a combination of length and compression at the fracture site. METHODS: Computed tomography scans were obtained of 10 scaphoid fracture ... Full text Link to item Cite

Development of a Questionnaire to Measure Impact and Outcomes of Brachial Plexus Injury.

Journal Article J Bone Joint Surg Am · February 7, 2018 BACKGROUND: The physical and psychological impact of brachial plexus injury (BPI) has not been comprehensively measured with BPI-specific scales. Our objective was to develop and test a patient-derived questionnaire to measure the impact and outcomes of BP ... Full text Link to item Cite

MRI bullseye sign: An indicator of peripheral nerve constriction in parsonage-turner syndrome.

Journal Article Muscle Nerve · July 2017 INTRODUCTION: The role of MRI in identifying hourglass constrictions (HGCs) of nerves in Parsonage-Turner syndrome (PTS) is largely unknown. METHODS: Six patients with PTS and absent or minimal recovery underwent MRI. Surgical exploration was performed at ... Full text Link to item Cite