Der Unfallchirurg
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Thirty years after its introduction in Germany, the benefits of the helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) compared to ground ambulances (GA) still remain unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of helicopter transport on rescue time and mortality based on the data of the German Trauma Registry. ⋯ Only minor differences in age and ISS were found between the groups. The time between the accident and arrival of the physician was longer in the HEMS group. The HEMS group also remained on the scene for longer, but had a higher rate of intervention. According to our analysis of the German Trauma Registry, patients with multiple injuries benefit from HEMS transportation.
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In recent years, the use of expandable titanium cages for vertebral body replacement in the thoracolumbar spine has been well established for the treatment of tumors, unstable traumatic lesions, or posttraumatic deformity. Collapse of the implant into the vertebral body remains a point of concern. A biomechanical compression test was designed to assess implant subsidence for a newly developed prototype for vertebral body replacement in the thoracolumbar spine using human cadaveric lumbar vertebrae. The objective of this study was to compare the compressive performance of a new expandable cage with modified end-plate design with three commonly available expandable cages for vertebral body replacement. ⋯ The modified endplate design of the new prototype was found to improve its compressive performance under constrained uniaxial loading conditions at the implant-bone interface. The improved compressive behaviour of the new implant might help to reduce the risk of implant subsidence and collapse into the vertebral body in vivo.