ABSTRACT
Purpose@#The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) after various types of knee surgery and to identify patients at high risk. @*Materials and Methods@#This retrospective was conducted using the medical records of knee surgeries conducted by one surgeon at Gachon University Gil Medical Center between May 2019 and December 2020. The occurrence of DVT was determined by venous ultrasonography 4 to 6 days after surgery, and the incidence of DVT was determined for arthroscopic ligament surgery, arthroscopic meniscus surgery, arthroplasty, and osteotomy. Patients diagnosed with DVT were treated with a pharmacological agent for 3 months, and DVT was reevaluated by Doppler sonography at 3 months postoperatively. @*Results@#Among a total of 221 cases, 75 cases (33.9%) were diagnosed with DVT. The incidence of DVT was significantly dependent on type of surgery, that is, anterior cruciate ligament surgery (ACL) 29.4%, meniscus surgery 30.2%, artroplasty 33.3%, and osteotomy 52.4%. In 60 of the 75 cases, DVT was successfully managed without complication by pharmacologic treatment. On the other hand, in 3 cases, pharmacologic treatment was stopped due to side effects. The other 15 cases were managed conservatively. A significant correlation was found between tourniquet application and incidence of DVT, and in the arthroplasty group, age and DVT were significantly correlated. However, surgical time was not correlated with DVT. @*Conclusion@#The incidence of DVT after knee surgery is significantly dependent on type of surgery. We believe that the absence of any severe complication, such as systemic or pulmonary embolism, related to DVT was due to early detection and adequate pharmaceutical management. Furthermore, we recommend that tourniquet not to be applied to patients at high risk of DVT.
ABSTRACT
Purpose@#Distal tibia fractures with severe soft-tissue edema or intra-articular fractures are treated by staged operations using external fixators. Definitive surgery that maintains ligamentotaxis has been difficult using existing fixators. This study introduced a novel ‘box-frame’ external fixator and evaluated its clinical usefulness. @*Materials and Methods@#This study included 45 patients (32 males, 13 females) diagnosed with distal tibia fractures who underwent staged operations between March 2012 and March 2016, with a follow-up of at least one year. The patients were divided into two groups. In one group, fixation was performed with a box-frame external fixator (Group A). In the other group, fixation was performed with a delta-frame external fixator (Group B). The following outcomes were evaluated: the time until definitive surgery, operative time of the definitive surgery, radiation exposure time, bone union, time to achieve bone union, postsurgical complications, American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society anklehindfoot score, and ankle range of motion. @*Results@#Compared to the delta-frame, the box-frame showed a statistically significant reduction in the mean radiation-exposure time and operative time during the definitive surgery by 58 seconds and 25 minutes, respectively. The differences in the time until definitive surgery, bone union, time to achieve bone union, postsurgical complications, and functional scores were not significant. @*Conclusion@#The box-frame external fixator can be a useful treatment method in the staged surgery of distal tibia fractures.