Techniques in hand & upper extremity surgery
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Tech Hand Up Extrem Surg · Dec 2013
Case ReportsApplication of an antibiotic intramedullary nail in the management of a large metacarpal bone defect.
Contaminated wounds and infected nonunions of the hand are not amenable to primary internal fixation and grafting. Antibiotic-impregnated cement intramedullary nails have been used in the lower extremity in the treatment of these fractures but have not been described in the hand. ⋯ We describe an alternative technique for the management of skeletal defects in a contaminated wound bed in the hand using readily available operating room equipment. The antibiotic-impregnated cement intramedullary nail can be placed temporarily until definitive internal fixation and grafting occur.
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Tech Hand Up Extrem Surg · Dec 2013
Immunosuppression and monitoring of rejection in hand transplantation.
Advances in vascularized composite allotransplantation over the last decade have achieved significant milestones in basic science and translational research, as well as clinically with highly encouraging functional and immunologic outcomes. However, certain immunologic challenges remain. ⋯ Furthermore, the profound side effect profile of the life-long, high-dose, multidrug immunosuppression regimen that is necessary to maintain a viable graft alters the risk to benefit ratio of this non-life-saving procedure. Therefore, there must be a concerted effort in the scientific community to develop novel protocols to either minimize immunosuppression or to induce tolerance to the allograft to promote the widespread application of this life-changing procedure.
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Tech Hand Up Extrem Surg · Dec 2013
Minimally invasive tension band wiring technique for olecranon fractures.
Some types of implants, such as plates, screws, wires, and nails, have been used for open reduction and internal fixation of olecranon fractures. A ≥ 10 cm longitudinal incision is used for open reduction and internal fixation of olecranon fractures. According to previous studies, tension band wiring is a popular method that gives good results. ⋯ Ring-Pin was fixed by using a dedicated cable wire that does not back out unless the cable wire breaks or slips out of the dedicated metallic clamp. As the pins are placed in intramedullary canal, this technique does not lead to postoperative complications that may occur after transcortical fixation by conventional tension band wiring. Minimally invasive tension band wiring is one of the useful options for the treatment of olecranon fractures with some advantages.