Archives of orthopaedic and trauma surgery
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Arch Orthop Trauma Surg · Dec 2005
The treatment of proximal humeral fractures with intramedullary titanium helix wire by 97 patients.
The displaced proximal humeral fracture continues to be a problem and remains the "unsolved fracture". Many guidelines for surgical treatment of different types of these fractures have been described. A conservative functional therapy is recommended as well as a closed or open reposition and internal fixation. Other authors prefer the primary prosthetic replacement of the displaced humeral head. The purpose of this article is to describe a minimal invasive technique--the intramedullary titanium helix wire--and to analyse results and specific problems of this method compared to other techniques. ⋯ The advantages of the method arising from the results lie in both the simple operation approach without nerve lesions or wound infections, and also in the indirect, intramedullary splinting of the fracture without damage to the surrounding soft parts, while iatrogenic necroses of the humeral head can be avoided.
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Arch Orthop Trauma Surg · Dec 2005
Why were limbs amputated? An evaluation of 216 surgical specimens from Chiang Mai University Hospital, Thailand.
Limb loss has a devastating effect on patients. To know the underlying causes of limb amputation would be helpful in planning public health strategies in the country. The objectives of this study are (1) to identify the primary causes and the feature of limb amputations in the setting of a university hospital, and (2) to study the time trends of the causes of limb amputation over a period of 5 years. ⋯ (1) Atherosclerosis, a potentially preventable disease is responsible for the great proportion of limb losses in Northern Thailand; (2) the numbers of dysvascular amputation seem to be increasing; (3) tumor, especially sarcoma, is the most common cause of major limb amputations as well as upper limb loss.