Journal of orthopaedics and traumatology : official journal of the Italian Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology
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Observational Study
Neck of femur fractures in the over 90s: a select group of patients who require prompt surgical intervention for optimal results.
Patients in the extremes of old age with a femoral neck fracture represent a challenging subgroup, and are thought to be associated with poorer outcomes due to increased numbers of comorbidities. Whilst many studies are aimed at determining the optimum time for surgical fixation, there is no agreed consensus for those over 90. The aim of this study is to report the surgical outcome of this population, to understand the role surgical timing may have on operative outcomes using the orthopaedic POSSUM scoring system and to identify whether medical optimization occurs during the period of admission before surgery. ⋯ As life expectancy increases, older patients are becoming commoner in our hospital systems. We believe the orthopaedic POSSUM scoring system can be used as an adjuvant tool in prioritising surgical need, and allow for a more impartial evaluation when changes to practice are made. Our findings show that timing of surgery has an important bearing on mortality and morbidity after hip surgery, and older patients with higher orthopaedic POSSUM scores are sensitive to delays in surgery.
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As life expectancy of patients increases, more elderly patients are undergoing primary total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA). There is a general perception of increased risk of complications in elderly patients. Our objective was to analyse the incidence of in-hospital medical and surgical complications following THA and TKA in octogenarian and nonagenarians. ⋯ In our study, we found that the incidence of peri-operative medical and surgical complications is higher in those over 80 years, compared to the published literature in patients of all age groups undergoing THA and TKA. Awareness of a higher incidence of major systemic complications should alert the treating surgeon to carry out comprehensive peri-operative management in this subset of patients, which could lead to better outcomes.
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Unicompartmental knee replacement (UKR) is now established as a treatment for medial compartment arthritis. The Oxford UKR (Biomet Orthopedics, Inc, Warsaw, IN, USA) has a mobile-bearing system, which minimizes wear. This has been shown to provide excellent long-term results. ⋯ We describe two cases of a posterior dislocation in which the mobile bearing could not be retrieved and was left in situ. In both cases a good outcome was achieved. We conclude that in extremely rare cases where a dislocated bearing has migrated posteromedially and cannot be retrieved, it can be left in place rather than exploring the joint acutely through a separate posterior incision.
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Originally described by Monteggia and later classified by Bado, elbow dislocations with concurrent radial and ulnar shaft fractures with distal radioulnar joint (DRUJ) disruption are considered operative cases with high-energy injurious etiologies. Here, we present an unclassifiable Monteggia variant fracture suffered through a high axial load mechanism in a 47-year-old female. The fracture pattern initially exhibited included a divergent elbow dislocation, a radial shaft fracture, plastic deformation of the distal ulna, and DRUJ instability. Here we describe the pattern in detail, along with definitive treatment and clinical outcome at 1 year follow-up.
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We investigated the radiographic parameters that may predict distal radial ulnar joint (DRUJ) instability in surgically treated radial shaft fractures. In our clinical experience, there are no previously reported radiographic parameters that are universally predictive of DRUJ instability following radial shaft fracture. ⋯ In the setting of a radial shaft fracture, ulnar variance greater or less than 2 mm was associated with a greater likelihood of DRUJ incongruence/instability following fracture fixation.