Hand Surgery in Indonesia.

The history of hand surgery in Indonesia began with the growing interest in performing a complicated hand surgery. Since the 1970s, hand surgery in Indonesia has made headway, especially when it comes to science and education. The development of hand surgery in Indonesia is not limited to a microsurgery area, but also covers more modern techniques, including reconstruction, minimal invasive surgery, arthroscopy, and various kinds of innovations and developments to overcome the high cost of health, especially medical devices in Indonesia. Voluntary visitations to help or take surgery procedures in many remote areas in Indonesia, such as Papua and Nusa Tenggara, have also contributed to the development of hand surgery. Currently, hand surgery in Indonesia is improving and growing significantly.

Suture suspension sling arthroplasty in thumb carpometacarpal joint arthritis: A case series.

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: Thumb carpometacarpal (CMC) joint arthritis is the most common condition in older adults and an upper-extremity surgical reconstruction site. Multiple treatments for CMC arthritis have been developed. Among them, suspension sling arthroplasty provides great results without requiring a tendon graft or advanced implants. However, it is rarely used in Indonesia. CASE PRESENTATION: The modified suture suspension sling arthroplasty technique developed by Arnold Peter C Weiss was performed on three patients with CMC joint arthritis. In this procedure, after trapeziectomy, a nonabsorbable suture is performed to create a hammock between the abductor pollicis longus and flexor carpi radialis tendon to rest the thumb base metacarpal. The rehabilitation protocol was then continued, and the postoperative clinical condition was observed. Three weeks postoperatively, none of the three patients complained of pain. At 3 months postoperatively, there were no signs of infection, and all patients continued the rehabilitation protocol. At 6 months postoperatively, thumb range of motion was excellent, with no sign of infection and an increased DASH score of <5. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: Multiple treatments for CMC joint arthritis have been described in the literature but the indications and which treatment provides the best results were unclear. Among the various suspension sling methods, trapeziectomy is important for treating CMC joint arthritis. CONCLUSION: Suture suspension arthroplasty for treating thumb CMC joint arthritis achieved excellent clinical results and has several advantages, including shorter surgical time, no additional incision, reduced cost, no tendon harvesting, and implant fixation.

Advances in wrist arthroscopic surgery in Indonesia.

Since the 1990s, new insights in wrist arthroscopy have led to the introduction of numerous treatment methods. Consequently, therapeutic procedures are no longer limited to resection as more specialized repair and functional reconstruction methods, involving tissue replacement and essential structural augmentation, have been shown to be beneficial. This article discusses the most prevalent reasons and uses for wrist arthroscopy, with an emphasis on Indonesia's most recent and major advances in reconstructive arthroscopic surgery. Joint debridement, synovectomy, ganglionectomy, capsular release, and osteotomies are frequent resection operations. Ligament repair and arthroscopy-aided reduction and fixation for fractures and nonunion are all examples of reconstructive surgery.

Doxycycline as a Potential MMP-1 Inhibitor for the Treatment of Spondylitis Tuberculosis: A Study in Rabbit Model.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) of the spine is a highly disruptive disease, especially in underdeveloped and developing countries. This condition requires standard TB treatment for 9-18 months, which increases patient risk of drug-resistant TB. Consequently, this raises the concern of adopting additional therapies to shorten the treatment duration, improve the efficacy of anti-TB drugs, and further decrease damage in the affected tissues and organs. Matrix metalloproteinase- (MMP-) 1 is a key regulator of the destruction of the extracellular matrix and associated proteins and is a new potential target for TB treatment research. In the present study, we investigated the effects of doxycycline as an MMP-1 inhibitor in patients with spondylitis TB. Methods: Seventy-two New Zealand white rabbits with spondylitis TB were divided into 12 different groups based on incubation period (2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks) and doxycycline administration (without, 1 mg/kg body weight (BW), and 5 mg/kg BW). We observed the course of infection through the blood concentration changes and immunohistochemical examination of MMP-1, in addition to BTA staining, culture, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and histopathological examination. Results: Treatment with once daily 5 mg/kg BW doxycycline significantly improved the blood MMP-1 level (p < 0.05) compared with the placebo and 1 mg/kg BW doxycycline. A significantly reduced ongoing infection and a higher healing rate were demonstrated in rabbits with a higher doxycycline dose through BTA staining, culture, PCR, and histopathology. Various degrees of vertebral endplates, vertebral body, and intervertebral disc destruction were observed in 32 rabbits with positive histopathological findings, in addition to positive inflammatory cell infiltration, characterized by numerous lymphocytes, macrophages, and epithelial cells, as well as abundant granulation tissue and necrotic substances proximal to the inoculated vertebral area. Bone and intervertebral disc destructions were more apparent in the untreated rabbits. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated the potential of doxycycline as an adjunctive treatment in spondylitis TB. However, limitations remain regarding the differences in the pathogenesis and virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis between rabbit and human systems, sample size, and the dose-dependent effect of doxycycline. Further studies are needed to address these issues.

Integration of Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cell Application in Hydroxyapatite-Based Scaffolds in the Treatment of Vertebral Bone Defect due to Spondylitis Tuberculosis: A Translational Study.

BACKGROUND: Vertebral bone defect represents one of the most commonly found skeletal problems in the spine. Progressive increase of vertebral involvement of skeletal tuberculosis (TB) is reported as the main cause, especially in developed countries. Conventional spinal fusion using bone graft has been associated with donor-site morbidity and complications. We reported the utilization of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) combined with hydroxyapatite (HA) based scaffolds in treating vertebral bone defect due to spondylitis tuberculosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three patients with tuberculous spondylitis in the thoracic, thoracolumbar, or lumbar region with vertebral body collapse of more than 50 percent were included. The patient underwent a 2-stage surgical procedure, consisting of debridement, decompression, and posterior stabilization in the first stage followed by anterior fusion using the lumbotomy approach at the second stage. Twenty million UC-MSCs combined with HA granules in 2 cc of saline were transplanted to fill the vertebral bone defect. Postoperative alkaline phosphatase level, quality of life, and radiological healing were evaluated at one-month, three-month, and six-month follow-up. RESULTS: The initial mean ALP level at one-month follow-up was 48.33 ± 8.50 U/L. This value increased at the three-month follow-up but decreased at the six-month follow-up time, 97 ± 8.19 U/L and 90.33 ± 4.16 U/L, respectively. Bone formation of 50-75% of the defect site with minimal fracture line was found. Increased bone formation comprising 75-100% of the total bone area was reported six months postoperation. A total score of the SF-36 questionnaire showed better progression in all 8 domains during the follow-up with the mean total score at six months of 2912.5 ± 116.67 from all patients. CONCLUSION: Umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells combined with hydroxyapatite-based scaffold utilization represent a prospective alternative therapy for bone formation and regeneration of vertebral bone defect due to spondylitis tuberculosis. Further clinical investigations are needed to evaluate this new alternative.