Archives of orthopaedic and trauma surgery
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Arch Orthop Trauma Surg · Jan 1991
ReviewLocking screw-plate fixation of cervical spine fractures with and without ancillary posterior plating.
Forty consecutive patients with 19 fractures and 21 fracture-dislocations in the lower cervical spine were treated prospectively with open reduction and interbody fusion, using the AO titanium locking screw-plate system. There were 30 men and 10 women with a mean age of 36 years (range 16-90 years). Eight were admitted tetraplegic, 12 tetraparetic, and 6 had nerve root injuries. ⋯ Six screws transgressed facet joints below the fusion. Ten posterior fusions extended to adjacent mobile segments by exuberant bony overgrowth. Ancillary posterior plating significantly reduced the range of neck mobility and also caused significantly more pain than anterior plate fixation alone.
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Arch Orthop Trauma Surg · Jan 1991
ReviewKnee ligament injuries combined with ipsilateral tibial and femoral diaphyseal fractures: the "floating knee".
The incidence of rupture of the knee ligaments was retrospectively studied in 47 patients with ipsilateral fractures of the femoral and tibial diaphyseal shaft. Fifteen patients proved to have an instability of the knee at the time of follow up. Disruption of the knee ligaments had not been recognised initially. ⋯ After stabilisation of both fractures in these cases, the knee ligaments had been repaired; at re-examination these patients had no complaints and their knees were perfectly stable. In view of the high incidence of missed cases, the possibility of disruption of the knee ligaments should be considered in all patients with fractures of both the femoral and tibial shaft. Meticulous examination of the knee at the time of injury is strongly advocated.
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The neurilemoma (benign schwannoma) is a benign tumor which arises from the Schwann cells of the peripheral nerves. In an intraosseous localization it is a very rare lesion, only forty cases being reported in the literature, and only two of these with the tumor located in the femur. This paper reports on a patient with a large neurilemoma in the lower part of the left femur.
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Arch Orthop Trauma Surg · Jan 1991
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialHematomas and subcutaneous suture techniques in total hip replacement. An ultrasound study.
Thirty-five patients undergoing total hip replacement due to primary arthrosis were randomized into two groups. In one group each subcutaneous suture included a stitch in the fascia; in the other group the fascia was not included in the suture. Ultrasonography examination showed no significant difference in the number of subcutaneous hematomas in each group. ⋯ Three patients had a clinical diagnosis of hematoma and in only one of these did ultrasonography support the diagnosis. It appears that the clinical diagnosis of hematomas, even subcutaneous hematomas, is unreliable. Careful hemostasis is recommended.
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Arch Orthop Trauma Surg · Jan 1991
Case ReportsOverdistraction: a hazard of skull traction in the management of acute injuries of the cervical spine.
In acute cervical spine trauma, skull traction is used to reduce a dislocation or fracture dislocation, to immobilize an unstable lesion until definitive treatment (operative or conservative) is possible or, more rarely, as a definitive treatment until healing occurs. This method may be dangerous when an unstable lesion is accidentally overdistracted. A few cases have been reported in the literature, some with neurological complications. ⋯ After reduction is completed, traction is reduced to 2 kg. This weight is sufficient to immobilize a lesion until definitive treatment is possible. Inadvertent rotation may be prevented by placing sandbags on both sides of the head.