From the *Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hokkaido University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan; the †Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Shin-syu University School of Medicine, Matsumoto, Japan; and ‡Hokkaido Orthopaedic Memorial Hospital, Sapporo, Japan.
Received: December 5, 2006
Revised: April 27, 2007; August 20, 2007
Accepted: September 7, 2007
Each author certifies that he or she has no commercial associations (eg, consultancies, stock ownership, equity interest, patent/licensing arrangements, etc) that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article.
Each author certifies that his or her institution has approved or waived approval for the human protocol for this investigation and that all investigations were conducted in conformity with ethical principles of research. Correspondence to: Norimasa Iwasaki, MD, PhD, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hokkaido University School of Medicine, Kita-15, Nishi-7, Kita-Ku, Sapporo 060-8638, Japan. Phone: 81-11-716-1161, ext 5937; Fax: 81-11-706-6054; E-mail: [email protected].
