Archives of orthopaedic and trauma surgery
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Arch Orthop Trauma Surg · Jan 1998
Treatment of cutout of a lag screw of a dynamic hip screw in an intertrochanteric fracture.
Sixteen consecutive patients with cutout of a lag screw of a dynamic hip screw fixation in an intertrochanteric fracture were treated with reinsertion of a lag screw, bone cement supplementation in the neck-trochanter, and subtrochanteric valgus osteotomy. Postoperatively, patients were permitted to ambulate with protected weight-bearing. Fourteen patients were followed-up for at least 1 year (median 2 years; range 1-3 years), and all had a solid union. ⋯ There were no complications of wound infection, loss of reduction, cutout of a lag screw, or osteonecrosis of the femoral head. From clinical and theoretical considerations, we conclude that despite cutout of a lag screw of a dynamic hip screw fixation being difficult to treat, out technique still can provide an excellent outcome. Therefore, we strongly recommend its wide use.
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Arch Orthop Trauma Surg · Jan 1998
Compartment pressure in nailed tibial fractures. A threshold of 30 mmHg for decompression gives 29% fasciotomies.
During the past few years we have monitored tissue pressure in patients treated with intramedullary nailing of tibial shaft fractures. A value of 30 mmHg has been used as the threshold for fasciotomy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate this practice. ⋯ At follow-up two patients were dead. All fractures were healed, and there were no major complications such as deep infection, extensive muscle necrosis, paresis or short-foot syndrome. Three fasciotomized patients had significantly reduced muscle strength compared with the contralateral leg.
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Arch Orthop Trauma Surg · Jan 1998
Review Case ReportsTraumatic forearm amputation with avulsions of the ulnar and median nerves from the brachial plexus.
A case of a traumatic forearm amputation and associated complete avulsions of the ulnar and median nerves from the brachial plexus due to a crush-traction injury of the distal part of the right forearm is reported. The patient also suffered a traumatic head injury. The injury of the upper limb and the general condition of the patient were so serious that an amputation at the 1/3 middle part of the forearm had to be performed.
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We present a case of a Galeazzi-type of fracture dislocation with an irreducible distal radioulnar joint. This is illustrated by intraoperative pictures which may assist others who find themselves faced with this injury.
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Arch Orthop Trauma Surg · Jan 1998
The retrograde intramedullary supracondylar nail: an alternative in the treatment of distal femoral fractures in the elderly?
To find out whether retrograde nailing of distal femoral fractures is beneficial for the aged patient, we performed a prospective study of consecutive patients 65 years or older with distal femoral fracture treated with a retrograde femoral nail between 1 March 1993 and 30 April 1996 in our department. In total, 26 patients with unilateral distal femoral fractures had been treated in our department, and 24 patients had been followed up for more than 12 months. All fractures had healed. ⋯ Even in our aged patients good functional results could be obtained. Poor hold of the distal interlocking screws and difficult proximal locking are the two major technical problems encountered with this implant. Early weight-bearing is not advisable.