Do surgical site complications after ankle fracture surgery reduce with Aquacel Extra Ag®? / ¿Disminuyen las complicaciones cutáneas tras la cirugía de fracturas de tobillo con el uso de Aquacel Extra Ag®?

INTRODUCTION: Ankle fractures account for up to 10% of total fractures. Most of them require surgical fixation, which involves an important risk of wound complications. The aim of this study was to determine whether a silver-impregnated occlusive surgical dressing (Aquacel Ag Extra®) was effective in reducing the rates of wound complications after ankle fracture open reduction and internal fixation compared to standard sterile dressing. METHODS: We prospectively reviewed 233 patients who underwent ankle fracture open reduction and internal fixation. Surgeons switched from using a standard dressing to an Aquacel Ag Extra® from July 2017 to February 2018, without other major changes in perioperative management. We compared skin complications between both groups after 3 months' follow-up. RESULTS: The statistical analysis showed that there is no difference in the prevalence of skin complications between both groups. CONCLUSIONS: The theoretical advantages of silver impregnated dressings need further prospective randomized controlled studies to assess the appropriate indications for their use in orthopaedic surgery.

CLOVES syndrome: review of a PIK3CA-related overgrowth spectrum (PROS).

Overgrowth syndromes are characterized by global or localized disproportionate growth associated with other anomalies, including vascular malformations and neurological and/or visceral disorders. CLOVES (Congenital Lipomatous asymmetric Overgrowth of the trunk with lymphatic, capillary, venous, and combined-type Vascular malformations, Epidermal naevi, Scoliosis/Skeletal and spinal anomalies) is an overgrowth syndrome caused by mosaic activating mutation in gene PIK3CA, which gives rise to abnormal PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway activation. These mutations are responsible for the clinical manifestations of the syndrome, which include low- and high-flow vascular malformations, thoracic lipomatous hyperplasia, asymmetric growth, and visceral and neurological disorders. These common anomalies are illustrated with figures from two personal cases. Identification of the clinical and genetic characteristics of CLOVES syndrome is crucial for the differential diagnosis with other overgrowth syndromes, such as Proteus or Klippel-Trenaunay (K-T) syndromes, and for the therapeutic management of the different anomalies. In this context, a new entity comprising different syndromes with phenotypic mutations in PIK3CA has been proposed, designated PIK3CA-related overgrowth spectrum (PROS), with the aim of facilitating clinical management and establishing appropriate genetic study criteria.