Bulletin (Hospital for Joint Diseases (New York, N.Y.))
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Isolated ACL reconstructions were performed in 138 patients between 1994 and 1998. Patellar bone-patellar tendon-bone, and hamstring tendon autografts were used in 88 patients, and allografts were used in 50 patients. Eighty-eight knees of 88 patients with autograft reconstructions (17 female, 71 male) were included in this study and evaluation of the patients with allograft reconstruction reported separately. ⋯ There were no cases of arthrofibrosis, infection, or extension lag. Clinical results of patellar bone-tendon-bone and hamstring groups did not show any significant clinical difference. Avoiding the disturbance of the extensor mechanism of the knee is probably the most significant advantage of the hamstring autograft.
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Although biomechanical data indicates that anterior fixation alone in unstable cervical injuries may not provide adequate stability, reports of clinical series indicate general success with this method of treatment. The specific contribution of posterior column injury to overall stability following reconstruction has not been evaluated. This study examined the biomechanical stability of anterior and/or posterior plate fixation following anterior corpectomy and reconstruction for unstable cervical injuries with varying degrees of posterior element injury. ⋯ Anterior plating alone was able to restore the stability of the cervical spines with posterior ligamentous injury after corpectomy, but it failed to do so with the addition of bilateral facetectomies. For the unstable cervical spine with significant bilateral loss of posterior bony contact, anterior or posterior plating alone may not provide sufficient stabilization in the absence of any additional external immobilization. Combined plating should be considered, which may obviate the need for external immobilization.
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Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
The results of intraoperative autotransfusion in orthopaedic surgery.
Perioperative hemorrhage associated with major orthopaedic surgery can become life threatening. Homologous bank blood transfusion can replace the volume of blood lost but it has serious disadvantages such as the transmission of viral agents, it has an insufficient platelet count, and transfusion reactions are possible. Hypotensive anesthesia, predeposited autologous blood transfusion and intraoperative autotransfusion are used to reduce these disadvantages. ⋯ The control group required an average of 3.2 +/- 2.1 units of bank blood. Preoperative and postoperative hematocrit values revealed a statistically significant difference between the autotransfusion group and the homologous transfusion group (p < 0.05). The results of this study suggest that intraoperative autotransfusion prevents the decrease in hematocrit values while reducing the need for bank blood transfusion and hence avoiding the risk of transmission of viral infections.
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Clinical Trial
Z-plate instrumentation in thoracolumbar spinal fractures.
Anterior decompression enables direct access and good canal clearance of the injury level in thoracolumbar spinal fractures, and decompressing the neural elements is shown to be an important factor for neurologic improvement and pain relief in many cases. In this study, results with anterior decompression and Z-plate instrumentation in thoracolumbar spinal fractures are reviewed. Nineteen patients with old spinal fracture (average: 3 years) and neural compression, and 15 patients with fresh thoracolumbar fractures with neurologic deficit and/or major anterior spinal canal obstruction had anterior decompression and Z-plate instrumentation with anterior fusion. ⋯ The unchanged positions of bone grafts and statistically insignificant loss of correction in the sagittal plane are accepted as evidence for bony fusion in all patients. Z-plate instrumentation provides stable fixation. Additionally, the technique can be performed easily and has the added benefit of being MRI-compatible.