Expanding horizons of reconstructive microsurgery in Lebanon: Reconstruction of complex traumatic wounds with anterolateral thigh perforator flaps in paediatrics patients less than 10 years of age.

Paediatric complex wounds pose a challenge to the reconstructive surgeon due to the intricacy of reconstructive options required. Developments in microsurgery and microsurgical technique have brought free tissue transfer ever closer to the comfort zone of the reconstructive surgeon for reconstruction of paediatric traumatic complex wounds. We present our experience of microsurgical reconstruction in Lebanon for complex traumatic wounds in paediatric patients under the age of 10 years using the free anterolateral thigh (ALT) flap. The ALT flap has proven its value as a safe, adaptable, and aesthetically acceptable reconstructive option in paediatric complex trauma.

Atraumatic Isolated Stress Fracture of the Distal Tibial Metaphysis in a Pre-menopausal Patient: A Case Report.

Stress fractures are partial or complete bone fractures usually occurring in the weight-bearing bones resulting from repeated cycles of submaximal stress and bone remodeling. When the tibia is involved, it usually affects the proximal or middle third part of the bone. This pathology is most often seen in athletes or related to traumatic activities. This case describes a healthy, pre-menopausal, non-athlete woman presenting with a distal tibial atraumatic stress fracture. Diagnosis is usually confirmed by a CT scan or MRI since radiographs could often show no abnormalities. Treatment of such fractures is conservative in the majority of cases and when present, predisposing or causative factors should also be investigated and assessed.

Multiple Intraosseous Cysts of the Carpal Bones Presenting as Unilateral Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Intraosseous ganglion cysts (IGC) of the carpal bones are frequently reported in the literature, involving at most two carpal bones of the same wrist. Only one case recently described the presence of multiple intraosseous ganglion lesions in the capitate, lunate, and triquetrum, resulting in chronic wrist pain. The following study reports the first case of multiple IGCs causing a unilateral carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), in a 56-year-old woman, with no previous history of trauma. Failure of conservative management prompted carpal tunnel release and the surgical excision of the ICGs, followed by autologous bone grafting to fill in the defects. Consequently, IGCs must be considered in the differential diagnosis of unilateral CTS due to the expansile nature of the bone lesions.

Intra-articular Lateral Tibial Plateau Osteoid Osteoma: Case Report and Arthroscopic Management.

Osteoid osteoma occurs in various locations in the human body, mostly in the metaphysis and diaphysis of long bones. This article describes a rare case of osteoid osteoma occurring in an intra-articular location, specifically in the lateral tibial plateau of a 40-year-old female patient. The challenge of diagnosing such a pathology in an atypical location was tackled in this article as well as different management options. Arthroscopic resection was opted in this case.

Ipsilateral Simultaneous Low-Energy Multiple Upper Limb Fractures in an Elderly Patient: Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Traumatic injuries of the upper limb can result in variant fracture combination. This article discusses a rare injury combination including ipsilateral proximal and distal humerus fractures alongside a distal radius fracture. The mechanism of the fall is unknown, but the patient being old with such a complex injury, one can only assume that osteoporosis played a major role. Open reduction and internal fixation was opted for the distal humerus and radius fractures, and percutaneous pinning was done for the proximal humerus fracture. Surgery is an option to each one of these injuries with different techniques available for managing such an association, with emphasis made on osteoporosis workup to help prevent such complex injuries.

Pseudarthrosis Following Lumbar and Lumbosacral Fusion Using the Antepsoas Technique.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective case-control study. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of pseudarthrosis following antepsoas (ATP) lumbar and lumbosacral fusions. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Pseudarthrosis is a feared complication following spinal fusions and may affect their clinical outcomes. To date there are no sufficient data on the fusion rate following ATP lumbar and lumbosacral arthrodesis. METHODS: This is a retrospective review of 220 patients who underwent lumbar minimally invasive antepsoas (MIS-ATP) fusions between January 2008 and February 2019 who have at least 1-year postoperative computed tomography (CT) follow-up scans. Fusion was graded using CT scans imaging and adopting a 1-4 grading scale (1, definitely fused; 2, likely fused; 3, likely not fused; 4, definitely not fused/nonunion). Grades 3 or 4 indicate pseudarthrosis. RESULTS: A total of 220 patients (average age: 66 years, 82 males (37.2%), and 127 (57.7%) smokers) were included. Eight patients (3.6%) developed pseudarthrosis. A total of 693 discs were addressed using the ATP approach. Of those, 681 (98.3%) were considered fused (641 levels [92.5%] were "definitely fused" and 40 levels [5.8%] were "Likely fused") and 12 discs (1.7%) developed pseudarthrosis (seven levels [1.0%] were "likely not fused" and five levels (0.7%) were "definitely not fused"). The highest rate of pseudarthrosis was found at L5-S1 (4.8%) compared to the L1-L5 discs (0-2%). Of 127 smokers, six developed pseudarthrosis (odds ratio = 2.3, P = 0.3). The fusion rates were 95.3% and 97.8% for smokers and nonsmokers, respectively. Of the eight patients who developed pseudarthrosis, only four (50%) were symptomatic, of whom two (25%) required revision surgery. Both of these patients were smokers. The overall revision rate due to pseudarthrosis was 0.9% (two of 220 patients). CONCLUSION: The MIS-ATP technique results in a high fusion rate (96.4% of patients; 98.3% of levels). Pseudarthrosis was noted mostly at the L5-S1 discs and in smokers.Level of Evidence: 4.