Immediate continuous passive motion after internal fixation of an ankle fracture

Surgical treatment is usually mandatory in displaced bimalleolar and trimalleolar fractures. Some authors have recommended early mobilization of the ankle joint after surgical treatment of these lesions. In this study, we evaluate the effect of immediate postoperative continuous passive motion in the management of displaced bimalleolar and trimalleolar fractures treated surgically

Is there a role of coral bone substitutes in bone repair?

Xenogeneic bone graft materials are an alternative to autologous bone grafting. Among such implants, coralline-derived bone grafts substitutes have a long track record as safe, biocompatible and osteoconductive graft materials. In this review, we present the available literature surrounding their use with special focus on the commercially available graft materials. Corals thanks to their chemical and structural characteristics similar to those of the human cancellous bone have shown great potential but clinical data presented to date is ambiguous with both positive and negative outcomes reported. Correct formulation and design of the graft to ensure adequate osteo-activity and resorption appears intrinsic to a successful outcome

Surgical treatment of fibrous dysplasia of bone in McCune-Albright syndrome

Seven patients affected by McCune-Albright syndrome with polyostotic fibrous dysplasia were operated on either for fracture fixation or for correction of bone deformity. Ten femurs, three tibiae, and one humerus were stabilized by intramedullary titanium nailing with a modified unreamed femoral nail (UFN) and standard unreamed tibial (UTN) and humeral (UHN) nails. The age of the patients at operation ranged from 8 to 30 years, with an average of 17 years, and the length of follow-up ranged from 8 months to 4 years, with an average of 2 years. Before operation, each patient had suffered from a minimum of three fractures to a maximum of 12, with an average of six fractures. The femur was the most affected skeletal segment. Before surgery, two patients were wheelchair-dependent owing to their severe lower limb bone deformities. At follow-up, all the patients were painless and all were able to walk even though one had to wear a bilateral long leg brace and another had to ambulate with the aid of two crutches. No patient had had additional fractures after surgery. The main intra-operative technical problems of this demanding surgical procedure were: a) reaming of a new medullary canal through the fibrodysplastic bone; b) the amount of blood loss in femoral surgery that ranged from 800 to 2,500 ml

Excision for the treatment of periarticular ossification of the knee in patients who have a traumatic brain injury

Patients who are comatose after a traumatic brain injury often have heterotopic periarticular ossification that can be treated with excision to improve the range of motion of the joint

Intramedullary nailing for lower limb polyostotic fibrous dysplasia in children: a Long-term follow-up study

Background: In children, intramedullary nailing (IN) has been proposed as the best treatment when the femur and tibia are totally affected by fibrous dysplasia (FD). However, in younger children IN must be repeated to maintain stabilization of the affected skeletal segment during growth. We report the long-term results in a cohort of patients in whom more than two-thirds of cases had IN repeated during growth. Methods: Twenty-nine femurs and 14 tibias totally affected by FD were treated by IN in 21 patients with polyostotic FD and McCune-Albright syndrome. Thirteen patients with 35 femoral and tibial deformities had a painful limp whereas 8 presented fractures. The patients had their first IN at a mean age of 9.26±2.68 years (range: 4 to 14 y). IN was repeated during growth in the younger patients, and all the patients underwent a mean of 2.13 femoral and 1.50 tibial IN per limb. The last IN was performed at a mean age of 16.42±1.95 years (range: 11 to 19 y). Titanium elastic nails and adult humeral nails were used in younger children, whereas adult femoral cervicodiaphyseal and interlocking tibial nails were used in older children and adolescents. At the latest follow-up, the patients were evaluated with a clinicoradiographic scale. All the data were statistically analyzed. Results: The mean length of follow-up from the last IN was 6.47±3.10 years (range: 3 to 14 y), and the mean age of the patients at follow-up was 22.85±3.53 years (range: 14 to 29 y) when lower limbs were fully grown in all but 1 patient. Satisfactory long-term results were obtained in about 81% of our patients, while complications occurred in 32.5% of the 43 cases. Conclusion: Lower limb IN-that was repeated in younger children during growth-provided satisfactory long-term results in most of our patients, with fracture and deformity prevention and pain control, regardless of the high rate of complications that mainly affected the femoral cases. Missing scheduled follow-ups was the main predictor of a poor result. Level of evidence: Level IV-case series

Chevron osteotomy with lateral release and adductor tenotomy for hallux valgus

Distal chevron osteotomy is a procedure widely performed for the surgical treatment of painful hallux valgus. The risks and benefits of a lateral capsular release and adductor tenotomy combined with chevron osteotomy are still debated. The aim of our study was to report the clinical and radiographic outcomes of this combined procedure in mild and moderate incongruent bunion deformities, with a hallux valgus angle (HVA) up to 40 degrees and an intermetatarsal angle (IMA) up to 20 degrees

Aseptic lysis L2-L3 as complication of abdominal aortic aneurysm repair

Osteolytic vertebral erosion is usually related to tumours, spondylitis or spondylodiscitis. Few reports in the literature describe lytic lesions of anterior lumbar vertebral bodies resulting from abdominal aortic aneurysm or false aneurysm. We report a case of abdominal aortic false aneurysm that caused lytic lesions of the second and third vertebral bodies in an 80-year-old man who underwent endovascular aneurysm repair. Fluoroscopy guided biopsy excluded infection or tumour. We performed a posterior spinal fusion and decompression because of bone loss of the second and third lumbar vertebral bodies and central stenosis. Postoperatively the patient showed satisfactory relief in low-back and thigh pain but, unfortunately, he died 1 month after surgery because of respiratory complications. This case suggests that when a lytic lesion of a lumbar vertebral body is discovered in a patient who has undergone endovascular aneurysm repair, an abdominal aortic false aneurysm may be the cause of the vertebral erosion even in cases without infective pathogenesis

Modified murray technique for carpal navicular nonunion

The authors report the results of long-term follow-up in 29 patients treated for non-union of the carpal navicular with a modified Murray technique performed through a lateral approach. Mean patient age at surgery was 22.5 years. Average time from injury to surgery for nonunion was 18 months. In 5 cases, mild signs of osteoarthritis of the radioscaphoid joint (scaphoid nonunion advanced collapse [SNAC] stage I) were present before surgery, and in 2 cases, radiographic signs of avascular necrosis of the proximal nonunion fragment were evident. In all cases, a corticocancellous nonvascularized bone graft taken from the distal part of the ipsilateral radius was used. Mean follow-up was 11.2 years. Nonunion had healed in 93.1% of cases. At follow-up, the 2 patients in whom nonunion had not healed had severe painful osteoarthritis of the wrist (SNAC stage IV). Twenty patients were asymptomatic, and 5 had occasional pain in the wrist. Wrist range of motion was restricted in all patients compared with the contralateral side. Mild osteoarthritis was observed in 6 patients (SNAC stage I). The average Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand score was 8.7 of 100. The modified Murray technique is reliable for treating nonunion of the carpal navicular. The union rate is high, and the incidence of wrist osteoarthritis is low compared with other studies. Early diagnosis and treatment of nonunion (a short interval between fracture and surgery) can minimize the risk of degenerative joint disease. Avascular necrosis of the proximal fragment is not an absolute contraindication to surgery