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Terence E. McIff, Orthopaedic Surgery
Research Interests:
Ankle Joint Replacement (implant design and biomechanical effects);
Techniques and Instrumentation for Surgical Correction of Idiopathic
Scoliosis, Surgical Repair of Tendon and Ligaments, Dynamic Finite Element
Analysis of Joint Replacements, Bioresorbable Implant Design and Testing,
Tissue Engineering, Imaging of Peripheral Nerve Injury
As Director of Research for the
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, my research includes all topics of relevant
concern to the orthopedic surgical staff and residents.
Our combined practice is a very active, high volume one, including hand
and upper extremity, foot and ankle, sports injury, hip, spine and trauma.
My own recent research has been in the evaluation and development of
total ankle replacement devices. These
projects involve cadaveric evaluation, component testing, and finite element
modeling to improve the function and biomechanical compatibility of the
devices. These same tools are
applied in the development and evaluation of a wide variety of orthopedic
devices and surgical techniques.
Potential REU project: Flexor tendon repair
presents a challenge to the surgeon because of the frustratingly long time
required to achieve a repair of adequate tensile strength using standard
suturing techniques. The
ends of flexor tendons must remain in close proximity despite being subjected
to relatively high tensile loads during the necessary periods of
rehabilitation. Our lab is
investigating alternative innovative techniques for the repair of severed
flexor tendons that can both meet the time constraints of the surgeon and the
strength requirements of the healing process.
Next summer, an REU student could conduct mechanical testing of intact
and severed cadaveric tendons repaired using traditional suturing techniques
or the improved techniques. Gaining
a good understanding of the microstructure of the tendon and how each type of
repair device interacts with that microstructure will be necessary to improve
performance.
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The
University of Kansas BE-REU is a National
Science Foundation sponsored program