Project description:Upper-extremity limb salvage following high-energy trauma poses unique challenges of massive soft tissue injury in the setting of large bone defects, traumatic segmental neurovascular injuries, and functional deficits. These complex injuries require multidisciplinary care to achieve requisite revascularization, bone stabilization, and preservation of remaining options for soft tissue coverage. This case presents a 45-year-old man who sustained a high-velocity gunshot resulting in a dysvascular limb. Through shared decision-making, upper-extremity limb salvage was pursued. Successful initial limb salvage included a reversed great saphenous vein graft from the brachial artery to the radial artery, followed by one bone forearm with nonvascularized graft from the ipsilateral distal ulna, latissimus dorsi free functioning muscle transfer with an end-to-side anastomosis to the brachial artery proximal to the vein graft, and coaptation of the anterior interosseous donor nerve from the proximal median nerve stump to the thoracodorsal recipient nerve.
Project description:BackgroundComplex and chronic lower extremity defects present a surgical challenge and can progress to eventual amputation if closure is not achieved. In addition to morbidity and mortality, these defects have a significant impact on patient quality of life and represent a substantial cost burden to the healthcare system. Ovine forestomach matrix (OFM) grafts are an advanced tissue scaffold option to supplement the surgical reconstruction ladder and may augment limb preservation in cases of complex lower extremity defects.MethodsA prospective observational study enrolled 130 complex lower extremity reconstructions that received OFM as part of surgical management. Granulation tissue formation, defect closure, and postoperative complications were assessed up to 1 year postoperatively to evaluate the outcome of OFM grafts for limb salvage via surgical reconstruction.ResultsParticipant demographics and defect characteristics were reflective of a real-world inpatient population with complex and chronic defects. Despite complexity of the defects, no postoperative infections or major amputations were reported. The median time to complete granulation tissue coverage and fill was 30.0 days (95% confidence interval, 26.9-33.1) and the median time to complete defect closure was 127.0 days (95% confidence interval, 110.5-143.5). At 180 days, a 62% incidence of healing was achieved with a median product application of 1.0 (interquartile range, 1.0-1.0).ConclusionsOFM-based grafts supported successful coverage of lower extremity defects in a real-world cohort with known risk-factors for amputation. Achieving successful closure with minimal complications, and often in a single application, suggests utility of OFM as a cost-effective adjunct in lower extremity reconstruction.
Project description:Acute limb compartment syndrome (ALCS) is a surgical emergency that can have serious consequences unless promptly diagnosed and treated, which is particularly challenging when there is an unusual cause. This is a comprehensive review of reported causes of ALCS. From 1068 included articles, we found 299 discrete causes of ALCS including toxins, infections, endocrine pathology, haematological emergencies, malignancy and iatrogenic ALCS. Familiarity with this wide range of ALCS causes may assist in early diagnosis of this limb-threatening condition.
Project description:Segmental bone defects of the tibia present a challenging problem, particularly when they are associated with soft tissue injuries or instability. Various techniques have been reported to treat bone loss in the tibia. This case report describes a patient with massive segmental bone loss associated with a soft tissue injury, which required a flap for coverage. The injury was treated with an ipsilateral fibular transport utilizing an Ilizarov/Taylor spatial frame. At one and a half year follow-up, the patient was able to walk without any support at home and wore a protective shell for outdoor activities. The outcome of this case study indicates that ipsilateral fibular transport using the Ilizarov method is a valuable technique for limb salvage reconstruction.
Project description:Context: Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) is common among athletes and should be considered as being of arterial origin only if patients have "clinical symptoms due to documented symptomatic ischemia." We previously reported that upper limb ischemia can be documented with DROPm (minimal value of limb changes minus chest changes) from transcutaneous oximetry (TcpO2) in TOS. Purpose: We aimed to test the hypothesised that forearm (F-) DROPm would better detect symptoms associated with arterial compression during abduction than upper arm (U-) DROPm, and that the thresholds would differ. Methods: We studied 175 patients (retrospective analysis of a cross-sectional acquired database) with simultaneous F-TcpO2 and U-TcpO2 recordings on both upper limbs, and considered tests to be positive (CS+) when upper limb symptoms were associated with ipsilateral arterial compression on either ultrasound or angiography. We determined the threshold and diagnostic performance with a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and calculation of the area under the ROC curve (AUROC) for absolute resting TcpO2 and DROPm values to detect CS+. For all tests, a two-tailed p < 0.05 was considered indicative of statistical significance. Results: In the 350 upper-limbs, while resting U-TcpO2 and resting F-TcpO2 were not predictive of CS + results, the AUROCs were 0.68 ± 0.03 vs. 0.69 ± 0.03 (both p < 0.01), with the thresholds being -7.5 vs. -14.5 mmHg for the detection of CS + results for U-DROPm vs. F-DROPm respectively. Conclusion: In patients with suspected TOS, TcpO2 can be used for detecting upper limb arterial compression and/or symptoms during arm abduction, provided that different thresholds are used for U-DROPm and F-DROPm. Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT04376177.
Project description:3D-printed hemipelvic endoprosthesis is an emerging solution for personalized limb-salvage reconstruction after periacetabular tumor resection. Further clinical studies are still required to report its surgical characteristics, outcomes, benefits and drawbacks. Sixteen consecutive patients underwent periacetabular tumor wide resection and pelvic reconstruction with a 3D-printed hemipelvic endoprosthesis from 2018 to 2021. The surgical characteristics and outcomes are described. The mean follow-up duration was 17.75 months (range, 6 to 46 months). Five patients underwent surgery for type I + II resection and reconstruction, seven for type II + III resection and reconstruction, three for type II resection and reconstruction, and one for type I + II + IV resection and reconstruction. The incidence of postoperative complication was 12.5% (2/16) for deep venous thrombosis (DVT), 12.5% (2/16) for pneumonia, and 12.5% (2/16) for would deep or superficial infection. During follow-up, two patients (12.5%) suffered hip dislocation and underwent revision surgery. CT demonstrated an obvious prosthetic porous structure-bone fusion after follow-up of at least 6 months. At the final follow-up, 12 lived with no evidence of disease while four lived with disease; no patients experienced pain; and 15 had independent ambulation, with a mean Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) score of 85.8% (range, 26.7% to 100%). 3D-printed hemipelvic endoprosthesis facilitates wide resection of periacetabular tumor and limb-salvage reconstruction, thus resulting in good oncological and functional outcomes. The custom-made nature is able to well mimic the skeletal anatomy and microstructure and promote osseointegration. Perioperative complications and rehabilitation exercise still need to be stressed for this engineering technology-assisted major orthopedic surgery.
Project description:A case of 16-year-old boy from the remote tribal population of Uttarakhand is described, who sustained a viper snakebite. The patient after various interventions and referrals developed locoregional and systemic complications. He not only had an open tibiofibular fracture but a large bimalleolar defect over his lower limb. The wound infection with underlying osteomyelitis progressed to septic shock and failure of the conventional cross-leg flap. Computed tomography scan of the limb revealed a single patent vessel, eliminating the option of microvascular flap. Limb amputation was considered for source control; however, in an attempt to salvage the limb, the novel approach of acute limb shortening with secondary limb lengthening was performed with parental consent, an approach not previously reported in the management of snakebite injuries. Adequate infection control was achieved following removal of the osteomyelitic bone, and the defect was covered with overlapping tissue from the docked limb and a cross-thigh flap. Secondary lengthening was performed after 3 months, and following extensive surgical and rehabilitative interventions, the boy's limb was salvaged and he retains a near-normal gait. This case report entails a detailed account of how mutilating a snakebite injury could be and how unconventional techniques like acute limb shortening with secondary lengthening can be used in such injuries.
Project description:IntroductionMegaprosthesis represent the most commonly used limb salvage method after musculoskeletal tumor resections. Nevertheless, they are burdened by high complication rate, requiring several surgical revisions and eventually limb amputation. The aims of this study were to evaluate the effect of rescuing the limb with subsequent revisions on complication rates (a), incidence of amputations (b), and whether complications reduce functional outcome after the first surgical revision (c).Materials and methodsWe retrospectively reviewed 444 lower limb megaprosthesis implanted for primary musculoskeletal tumors or metastatic lesions, from February 2000 to November 2017. 59 patients received at least one revision megaprosthesis surgery. MSTS score was used to assess final functional results. Complication-revision-amputation free survival rates were calculated both at 5 and 10 years of follow-up.ResultsComplication free survival, revision free survival and amputation free survival at 10 years were 47% and 53%, 61% and 67%, 90% and 86% among all 444 patients and the group of 59 revised patients, respectively. The incidence of further complications after the first complication was 26% in the group treated with no subsequent revision surgeries and 51% in the group with at least one revision surgery. We found a trend of inverse linear relationship between the number of complications needing subsequent revision surgeries and the final MSTS.ConclusionThe number of further revision surgeries after limb salvage with megaprosthesis increases the incidence of complications. Repeated surgical revisions, in particular after infection, increase the amputation rate. The most frequent causes of failure were structural failures and infections. MSTS score was superior for patients undergoing limb salvage than amputees. However, MSTS progressively decreased with multiple revisions becoming inferior to the functional score of an amputated patient.
Project description:BackgroundWe examined the visibility of fractures of hand and forearm in whole-body CT and its influence on delayed diagnosis. This study is based on a prior study on delayed diagnosis of fractures of hand and forearm in patients with suspected polytrauma.MethodsTwo blinded radiologists examined CT-scans of patients with fractures of hand or forearm that were diagnosed later than 24 h after admission and control cases with unremarkable imaging of those areas. They were provided with clinical information that was documented in the admission report and were asked to examine forearm and hands. After unblinding, the visibility of fractures was determined. We examined if time of admission or slice thickness was a factor for late or missed diagnoses.ResultsWe included 72 known fractures in 36 cases. Of those 65 were visible. Sixteen visible fractures were diagnosed late during hospital stay. Eight more fractures were detected on revision by the radiologists. Both radiologists missed known fractures and found new fractures that were not reported by the other. Missed and late diagnoses of fractures occurred more often around 5 pm and 1 am. Slice thickness was not significantly different between fractures and cases with fractures found within 24 h and those found later.ConclusionsThe number of late diagnosis or completely missed fractures of the hand and forearm may be reduced by a repeated survey of WBCT with focus on the extremities in patients with suspected polytrauma who are not conscious.Level of evidenceIII.