Archives of orthopaedic and trauma surgery
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Arch Orthop Trauma Surg · Jan 2001
Comparative StudyEarly mobilization after sliding and Z-lengthening of heel cord: a preliminary experimental study in rabbits.
Sliding lengthening and Z-lengthening techniques are widely used in heel cord lengthening. Even though most surgeons performing these procedures apply a short leg cast after surgery, their postoperative immobilization intervals vary from 3 to 7 weeks. Nather et al. showed that there was no need for immobilization after the musculotendinous lengthening of long, deep flexor tendons. ⋯ Even though the biomechanical study showed superior results in the sliding lengthening group on the 7th day, elongation of the tendons at both sites was seen radiographically. There was no statistically significant difference between the sites according to the biomechanical study done on the 28th day. We concluded that the ankle should be immobilized in the early healing phase and that both types of lengthening gain a similar level of strength by the 4th week.
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Arch Orthop Trauma Surg · Jan 2001
Case ReportsBipartite median nerve with a double compartment within the transverse carpal canal.
An anomaly of the median nerve in which there is a division into two branches at the level of the distal third of the forearm is reported. This case was unique in that the ulnar branch of the median nerve passed through a separate compartment within the transverse carpal ligament. It was necessary to decompress both branches of the nerve when releasing the carpal canal.
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Arch Orthop Trauma Surg · Jan 2001
Case ReportsNo neurological involvement for more than 40 years in Klippel-Feil syndrome with severe hypermobility of the upper cervical spine.
We report the case of a 42-year-old woman with Klippel-Feil syndrome, who showed severe hypermobility of the upper cervical spine without neurological involvement for more than 40 years. Radiographs revealed the presence of the odontoid bone and fusion of the atlas, odontoid bone, and occiput. ⋯ Prophylactic surgical stabilization has been recommended in patients with severe hypermobility, but adjacent disc problems may possibly occur at the unfused levels in the future. We believe that early prophylactic stabilization should not be indicated for Klippel-Feil syndrome without neurological involvement only because of hypermobility.
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Arch Orthop Trauma Surg · Jan 2001
Case ReportsFlexor digitorum longus accessorius in the club foot of an infant with Nager syndrome.
The case of a male infant is reported who had club foot on the right side and pes adductus on the left side in combination with acrofacial dysostosis; he also demonstrated preaxial anomalies of the upper limbs indicative of Nager syndrome. In addition, an unusual aberrant muscle was discovered during surgical correction of the right club foot.
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Arch Orthop Trauma Surg · Jan 2001
Pelvic fracture among polytrauma decedents. Trauma-based mortality with pelvic fracture--a case series of 74 patients.
Pelvic fractures (PF) sustained from accidents are commonly believed to be a major cause of mortality in polytraumatized patients. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether PF are usually the primary cause or a contributing cause of mortality in these patients. A 10-year retrospective review was performed of all polytrauma patients with PF who were admitted to, and died, at a large, level-I trauma center. ⋯ In this study, patients who died with PF had an ISS that implicated at least one or two additional major visceral injuries. These data do not support the hypothesis that PF, regardless of its complexity, is the usual primary cause or the major precipitating event of death in the polytraumatized patient. In these patients, mortality appears to be a function of the associated injuries based on the ISS calculation.