The Iowa orthopaedic journal
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Open fractures of the pelvis remain a devastating injury with a high mortality and morbidity. Such injuries require an aggressive treatment plan and the coordination of trauma and orthopaedic surgeons to achieve the best outcomes. We report our experience at the University of Tennessee Medical Center at Knoxville with open pelvic fractures over the last ten years. ⋯ Open pelvic fractures are usually the result of a high energy transfer, and convey a high morbidity and mortality. A defined resuscitation and fixation strategy improves outcome from historical reports. Injuries from penetrating mechanisms are associated with less morbidity and lower mortality.
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Thumb carpometacarpal (CMC) joint arthritis is one of the most common problems addressed by hand surgeons. The gold standard of treatment for thumb CMC joint arthritis is trapeziectomy, ligament reconstruction and tendon interposition. Denervation of the thumb CMC joint is not currently used to treat arthritis in this joint due to the failure of the procedure to yield significant symptomatic relief. The failure of denervation is puzzling, given that past anatomic studies show the radial nerve is the major innervation of the thumb CMC joint with the lateral antebrachial nerve and the median nerve also innervating this joint. Although no anatomic study has ever shown that the ulnar nerve innervates the CMC joint, due to both the failure of denervation and the success of arthroscopic thermal ablation, we suspect that previous anatomic studies may have overlooked innervation of the thumb CMC joint via the ulnar nerve. ⋯ We believe this is the first study to demonstrate that the ulnar nerve innervates the thumb CMC joint This finding may explain the poor results seen in earlier attempts at denervation of the thumb CMC, but the more favorable results with techniques such as arthroscopy with thermal ablation.
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The purpose of this study was to examine the demographic and hospitalization characteristics of children hospitalized with lower extremity fractures in the United States in 2006. ⋯ This study provides an understanding of the demographic and hospitalization characteristics of children with lower extremity fractures in the United States in 2006. This information may be useful in implementing measures to help prevent similar injuries in the future. Further research is required to determine causality of the associations found including increased mortality risk for this population at rural and non-teaching hospitals.
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Injury to the saphenous nerve at the ankle has been described as a complication resulting from incision and dissection over the distal tibia and medial malleolus. However, the exact course and location of the distal saphenous nerve is not well described in the literature. The purpose of this study was to determine the distal limit of the saphenous nerve and its anatomic relationship to commonly identified orthopaedic landmarks and surgical incisions. ⋯ This study highlights the proximity of the distal saphenous nerve to common landmarks in orthopaedic surgery. This has important clinical implications in ankle arthroscopy, tarsal tunnel syndrome, fixation of distal tibia medial malleolar fractures, and other procedures centered about the medial malleolus. While the distal course of the saphenous nerve is generally predictable, variations exist and thus the orthopaedic surgeon must operate cautiously to prevent iatrogenic injury. To avoid saphenous nerve injury, incisions should stay distal to the tip of the medial malleolus. The medial arthroscopic portal should be more than one centimeter from the anterior aspect of the medial malleolus which will also avoid the greater saphenous vein. Incision over the anterior tibialis tendon should stay within one centimeter of the medial edge of the tendon.
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Review Comparative Study
High tibial osteotomy versus unicompartmental knee arthroplasty for medial compartment arthrosis of the knee: a review of the literature.
This review examined the literature regarding high tibial osteotomy (HTO) and unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA), focusing on indications, survivorship and functional outcomes of the two procedures, as well as revision to total knee arthroplasty (TKA) after failed HTO or UKA. HTO and UKA share the same indications in selected cases of medial unicompartmental knee arthrosis. These indications include patients who are: 1) 55 to 65 years old; 2) moderately active; 3) non-obese; 4) have mild varus malalignment; 5) no joint instability; 6) good range of motion; and 7) moderate unicompartmental arthrosis. ⋯ Whether revision HTO and UKA-to-TKA perform any worse than primary TKA is still controversial. With the correct indications, both treatments produce durable and predictable outcomes in the treatment of medial unicompartmental arthrosis of the knee. There is no evidence of superior results of one treatment over the other.