Tibial pilon fractures treated with hybrid external fixator: analysis of 75 cases.

INTRODUCTION: The treatment of tibial pilon fractures is a surgical challenge due to the particular anatomical and vascular characteristics of this area, and the severity of the injury that can compromise soft tissues. Nowadays there is no gold-standard treatment for these fractures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed 75 patients with tibial pilon fracture type C (AO classification) treated with hybrid external fixation (Stryker TenXor®). The surgical technique was reported. We evaluated clinical (Tornetta's score, VAS score, range of motion) and radiographic outcomes. RESULTS: In 71 cases, the first surgical treatment was definitive. Instead, in four cases, it was necessary a second surgical procedure to achieve fracture healing. We obtained 44% excellent, 40% good, 7% discrete, and 9% bad results. We found a 30% of superficial infections of the pin site, resolved with oral antibiotic treatment (amoxicillin and clavulanic acid). We never had deep infections, no neurovascular injury, and no cases of secondary amputation. Although not statistically significant, we noticed a correlation between longer recovery times and trauma severity, with slower recovery in open or grade III fractures or when associated with other fractures. CONCLUSIONS: According to the recent literature, we think that the best treatment for non-articular fracture is the internal osteosynthesis within 6 h or after 6 days from trauma. In articular fractures, the elective treatment is the two-step management. In complicated articular fractures (Tscherne > 2, open, comminuted type III) is highly indicated the external fixation combined with minimal internal synthesis.

Bone cement implantation syndrome: a thromboelastographic study of the effect of bone cement on coagulation.

Bone cement implantation syndrome (BCIS) is a rare form of intraoperative pulmonary embolism (EP) that occurs during cementation. It can be explained by two main theories: the monomer mediated model and the mechanic model. Our goal is to evaluate thromboelastographic changes in patients undergoing surgery for femoral neck fractures. We recruited 32 patients with a femoral neck fracture. The average age was 81.91 years (range 62-95). The patients were divided in two different groups: cemented hip arthroplasty (CC, 13 patients) and other surgical non-cemented techniques (SC, non-cemented hip arthroplasty, osteosynthesis). The coagulation was evaluated by TEG in the early pre-operatory (time A) and post-operatory (time B), both on native blood and on blood added with Heparinase. We used the t-test to compare the differences between the two groups. The coagulation index CI was modified on hypercoagulability by surgery in both groups, but without statistical significance between the two groups (p>0.05). R parameter decreases between time A and time B in the same way in both groups (p>0.05). Parameter MA had no major variations between time A and B, without statistical significance (p>0.05). From our study it is evident that although the surgery would result in a change in the layout of the TEG toward hypercoagulability, this is similar both in cemented and non-cemented surgical interventions for femoral neck fractures in elderly patients. An altered coagulation does not appear to be the cause or a factor in determining the BCIS.

The biphasic bioresorbable scaffold (Trufit(®)) in the osteochondral knee lesions: long-term clinical and MRI assessment in 30 patients.

BACKGROUND: Chondral or osteochondral defects have been reported in 60-67 % of patients in studies reporting knee arthroscopies. The surgical management of chondral and osteochondral defects (OCD's) of the articular surface of the knee joint remains a controversial topic. Osteochondral injuries can be treated with transfer cartilage procedure and with implantation of biodegradable scaffolds. For patients over 50 years old with largest osteochondral lesions, we prefer to use the biodegradable scaffold, like Trufit(®) plug (Smith & Nephew, Andover, MA). The purpose of this study is to evaluate the outcome of this series of surgical procedure with Trufit. METHODS: In our institute, the Trufit was used for the treatment of one or more focal osteochondral lesions of the femoral condyles positive MRI with or without concomitant ligamentous or meniscal pathology. We reviewed 30 patients with mean age of 60.57 years (range 32-79 years) with a clinical and imaging control at 6, 12, 24 and 48 months of follow-up. RESULTS: The clinical evaluation has shown the good outcome. The MRI conducted has shown the progressive partial integration of the scaffolds. CONCLUSIONS: The results obtained indicate a clear improvement of the clinical symptoms and slowing joint degeneration. The clinical and imaging results confirm that the Trufit constitutes a valid surgical alternative in case of focal osteochondral.

Angular stable plates in proximal meta-epiphyseal tibial fractures: study of joint restoration and clinical and functional evaluation.

BACKGROUND: The tibial plateau fractures involve one of the main weight bearing joints of the human body. The goals of surgical treatment are anatomical reduction, articular surface reconstruction and high primary stability. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical and functional outcomes after internal plate fixation of this kind of fractures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January 2009 to December 2012, we treated 75 cases of tibial plateau fracture with angular stable plates. We used Rasmussen Score and the Knee Society Score for the clinical and functional evaluation. Twenty-five cases that underwent hardware removal had arthroscopic and CT evaluation of the joint. RESULTS: No complications occurred. The clinical and functional evaluation, performed by the KSS and Rasmussen Score, highlighted the high percentage of good-to-excellent results (over 90 %). In every case, the range of motion was good with flexion >90°. Arthroscopy showed the presence of chondral damage in 100 % of patients. In all the cases, we found that X-ray images seem better than the CT images. CONCLUSIONS: Angular stable plates allow to obtain a good primary stability, permitting an early joint recovery with an excellent range of motion. Avoiding to perform a knee arthrotomy at the time of fracture reduction could prove to be an advantage in terms of functional recovery. The meniscus on the injured bone should be preserved in order to maintain good function of the joint. X-ray images remain the gold standard in checking the progression of post-traumatic osteoarthritis.

[Basic standards in handling patients with dengue fever, hemorrhagic dengue and dengue shock]. / Normas básicas en el manejo del paciente con fiebre dengue, dengue hemorrágico y dengue shock.

The Dengue epidemic in Venezuela has increase dramatically during the last years. There is a rise in the number of cases as well as in the severity of the disease. The fact that it circulates more than one serotype of the virus (1, 2 and 4), from the four described turn us into a hyperendemic region. The symptoms produce in the patient as a consequence of the infection with the Dengue virus, varies from a mild fever to the severe Dengue Shock. Here, the characteristics and classification of the different clinical manifestation are presented as well as the basic procedures in the management of the patient in every case.