Injury
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A case of fracture of the sternum in a patient suffering from osteogenesis imperfecta is presented. Internal fixation was carried out using a plate which was placed within the medulla. The described technique is simple and useful for the rarely indicated operative treatment of fractures of the sternum.
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If ignited, an evaporated inflammable liquid remaining mixed with air in an oil or petrol drum may cause an explosion in which the top and bottom of the drum are blown off by the blast and act as projectiles causing extensive injuries to persons nearby. To analyse the occurrence of this type of accident and to study the injuries involved information was sought from all police districts in Denmark and all the departments of plastic surgery with a burns unit. The investigation revealed a total of 21 accidents caused by oil drum explosions over a period of 36 years with 16 injured within the last 5 years in a population of five million people. ⋯ Five victims received injuries to the lower limb and presented with a total of six open, comminuted fractures of the tibia. Nine men had burns covering from 2 to 50 per cent of the body surface, up to 30 per cent of the burns being full-thickness. This paper draws attention to the extreme danger of working on apparently empty oil or petrol drums with tools generating heat or sparks, unless specific precautions are taken.
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Three cases with injury of the axillary artery and brachial plexus complicating a displaced proximal fracture of the humerus are presented. In two patients the arterial injury was not recognized on admission. ⋯ In two of the cases, the arterial injury may have been caused by an attempt at closed reduction of the fracture. The possibility of axillary arterial injury should be considered in proximal fractures of the humerus with severe medial displacement of the shaft of the humerus.
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This paper reports the results of treatment of 17 patients with fractures of the shaft of the humerus accompanied by paralysis of the radial nerve in a series of 111 patients with fractures of the shaft of the humerus. In early operative explorations in 14 cases the radial nerve appeared undamaged in 13 cases. ⋯ The high incidence of undamaged nerves at exploration suggests that a conservative approach by collar and cuff or Sarmiento bracing is justified in such cases of fractures of the shaft of the humerus. Paralysis of the radial nerve associated with fractures of the shaft of the humerus is, in our opinion, not an indication for early operative treatment.
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A prospective survey was conducted of all patients requiring admission to the Regional Burns Centre for South East Scotland at Bangour Hospital and the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh. All patients admitted between May 1983 and April 1984 were studied. ⋯ A total of 276 patients were studied, of whom 152 were transferred. Early management by referring hospitals was often far from ideal, with errors in initial care that should have been avoided.