Early Surgical Stabilization of Complex Chest Wall Injuries Improves Short-Term Patient Outcomes.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to assess the outcome of patients undergoing internal fixation of complex rib fractures in a U.K. major trauma center. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on all patients undergoing operative fixation of rib fractures from March 2014 to May 2016. Outcome measures included hospital length of stay, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, mechanical ventilation, infection, and mortality. RESULTS: One hundred and two patients (66 male patients and 36 female patients, with a median age of 62 years) underwent rib fracture fixation during the study period. The causes of trauma were road traffic accidents in 39 patients (38%), a fall from a substantial height in 38 patients (37%), and a fall down stairs in 21 patients (21%). Thirty-eight patients (37%) had isolated chest trauma, and 64 patients (63%) had additional injuries. Fifty-three patients (52%) required ICU admission with a mean ICU stay of 4.7 days (range, 1 to 34 days). The median hospital length of stay was 10.6 days (range, 3 to 51 days). Patients with additional injuries (p = 0.01) and those requiring mechanical ventilation (p < 0.0001) stayed significantly longer. Sixty-five patients (64%) underwent rib fixation within 48 hours of the injury, and 37 patients (36%) underwent the surgical procedure after 48 hours. A surgical procedure within 48 hours resulted in a shorter ICU stay (p = 0.01), fewer cases of pneumonia (p = 0.001), reduced duration of mechanical ventilation (p = 0.03) and fewer tracheostomies (p = 0.02), and shorter hospital length of stay (11.5 compared with 17.3 days; p = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: Surgical stabilization of multiple rib fractures may improve the outcome in patients with multiple injuries and isolated chest wall trauma. Early surgical fixation leads to shorter length of stay and better outcomes. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Pain and outcomes of carpal tunnel release under local anaesthetic with or without a tourniquet: a randomized controlled trial.

We conducted a prospective randomized controlled trial to investigate carpal tunnel decompression under local anaesthesia. Carpal tunnel decompression was performed in 37 wrists using local anaesthesia and an arm tourniquet and 36 without tourniquet but with a local anaesthetic mixture containing adrenaline. Patients who underwent carpal tunnel decompression using a tourniquet experienced a significantly greater degree of pain when compared with those who did not have a tourniquet. Pain and hand function improved to a similar degree in both groups. We conclude that carpal tunnel decompression performed with a tourniquet causes patients unnecessary pain with no additional benefit as compared with the wide-awake carpal tunnel decompression without use of a tourniquet. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: I.

Outcome of revision arthroplasty for failed metal-on-metal total hip replacements; is there a relation with metal ions?

PURPOSE: We aimed to assess the early outcome following revision arthroplasty for failed metal-on-metal (MoM) total hip replacements (THR) due to adverse reaction to metal debris (ARMD). METHODS: We reviewed 106 consecutive revision arthroplasties. Case notes and radiological investigations were reviewed to assess the complications. Oxford Hip Score (OHS) and Euroqol (EQ-5D-3L) scores were used to assess the functional outcome and improvement of quality of life. RESULTS: At a mean follow-up of 20 months (12-48 months), the mean OHS was 28.7. Pain improved in 61% patients. A majority of patients were in level 2 for all the EQ-5D-3L dimensions. The overall complication rate was 16%. Survivorship free from further revision for any cause was 94.3% at 48 months. There was no correlation between pre-revision blood metal ions and the final outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Revision surgery for failed MoM hip replacement due to ARMD is associated with a relatively higher rate of complications and risk of chronic pain. There is poor correlation between serum metal ions and development of ARMD and outcome following revision surgery.

Adverse reaction to metal bearing leading to femoral stem fractures: a literature review and report of two cases.

Metal-on-metal (MoM) bearing in total hip replacement (THR) has a high failure rate due to adverse reaction to metal debris (ARMD). There is a spectrum of soft tissue and bony changes in ARMD including muscle necrosis and osteolysis. In our institution, more than 1500 MoM THRs were implanted since 2003. Recently, we have revised significant numbers of these. We report our experience and management of a mode of failure of MoM THR that has been infrequently reported-the distal femoral stem fracture. We report on two patients who presented with worsening pain attributable to fracture of the femoral stem. Severe femoral osteolysis led to loss of proximal stem support and eventual fatigue fracture of the component. Both patients were revised employing a posterior approach. Bone trephine was used to extract a well-fixed distal stem fragment without any windows. Both patients had successful outcome after revision with excellent pain relief and no complications.

Shoulder hemiarthroplasty for the treatment of three and four part fractures of the proximal humerus using Comprehensive® Fracture stem.

We looked at the functional outcome of 32 consecutive patients with proximal humeral fractures that required hemiarthroplasty. Functional status was assessed using University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) shoulder end result assessment, simple shoulder test (SST) and American Shoulder and Elbow Society (ASES) shoulder index. Mean age of the patients was 72.2 years and the mean follow-up was 25.3 months. The mean score on UCLA shoulder end result assessment was 24.8, the mean SST score was 7.4 and the mean ASES shoulder index was 67.2. Mean active forward elevation was 85.1°. Patient satisfaction was around 81%. Radiologically, no dislocation, loosening or greater tuberosity pull off was seen. Superior migration of the humeral head was seen in 11 patients (34%). There was no significant difference seen in functional outcome among different genders, age and those who had radiological superior migration of the prosthesis. However, there was a significant statistical difference seen in the functional outcome between patients who had a deficient or a good quality cuff showing that quality of the rotator cuff is an important predicator of functional outcome.

When to use drains in breast reduction surgery?

We aimed to identify risk factors that may influence surgeons' decision on the use of surgical drains in breast reduction surgery. Medical notes of 182 patients were reviewed. The mean age of the patients was 38 years and the mean body mass index was 25.4 kg/m. Eighty-three percent of the patients had bilateral breast reduction. The mean weight of the breast tissue excised was 581 g, with the inferior pedicle technique being the most commonly used (52.6%). Factors significantly associated with an increased total drain output were older age (> 50 years, P = 0.001), and larger amount of breast tissue excised (> 500 g, P = 0.004). Neither operative technique nor body mass index influenced the total drain output. We conclude that for patients of over 50 years old and breast reductions of more than 500 g, use of a drain should be considered. Younger patients and breast reductions of < or = 500 g may not benefit from the use of drains.