Coalitions of the Tarsal Bones.

Tarsal coalitions are the result of impaired mesenchymal separation of the tarsal bones. The most common types include calcaneonavicular or talocalcaneal coalitions. Subtalar stiffness results in pathologic kinematics with increased risk of ankle sprains, planovalgus foot deformity, and progressive joint degeneration. Resection of the coalition yields good results. Tissue interposition may reduce the risk of reossification, and concomitant deformity should be addressed in the same surgical setting.

Preserving the lower extremity after severe devolving injuries to meet the patient's demand in two cases: (Limb salvage after degloving injury).

BACKGROUND: Severe injuries of the foot are a life-changing event. They often lead to some form of disability, and are therefore very challenging to manage. Injuries of the extremity, especially the foot and ankle, are distinct predictors of poor outcome in polytrauma patients.Degloving injuries of the lower extremity involving the heel and foot are a rare and unique subgroup of severe foot injuries.Treating degloving injuries is challenging. The surgical approach has to take into consideration both osseous and massive soft tissue injuries aiming to preserve the unique architecture of the lower limb and reconstruct the soft tissue.There are several surgical approaches for treating degloving injuries of the lower limb. CASE PRESENTATION: We would like to share our experience with two cases of young very active patients who suffered from a complex injury of the lower limb that included a massive degloving injury. It was of paramount importance to salvage the lower limb and keep it functional.Both patients were treated while using the degloved skin as a defatted full thickness skin flap that was replanted on the injured limb followed by application of VAC-therapy. CONCLUSION: We treated two patients suffering a severe degloving injury of the lower extremity with degloved skin as a full thickness flap in order to preserve both the extremity itself as well as the function of the lower limb according to the individual requirements of the patients. Consequently, we could enable the patient to pursue their professional musical training requiring subtle use of the lower extremity as well as ensuring sufficient function of the lower extremity in everyday use.

Ten Years' Follow-Up on Combined Palmar and Dorsal Internal Fixation of Complex Distal Radius Fractures.

Complex distal intra-articular radial fractures (AO Type C3) are rare, but are life-changing injuries. They are usually related to high-velocity trauma mechanisms in a working male population.We surveyed a cohort of these fractures treated in our institution to assess the functional long-term outcome.Twelve consecutive patients with comminuted intra-articular distal radial fractures were treated at our institution. Osteosynthesis was performed by a single senior surgeon with volar and dorsal extended approaches. The intermediate and final control included conventional X-ray, range of motion (ROM), grip strength, and the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand index (DASH), as well as the Patient-rated Wrist Evaluation (PRWE) score for functional outcome at 1 and 10 years' of follow-up.At 10 years' follow-up, anatomic reconstruction with a step or gap of <1 mm was achieved in 10 of the 12 above-mentioned patients, whereas 2 patients were lost to follow-up. ROM was good to excellent in 8 patients. Median grip strength was 107% of the contralateral side. Median DASH-Index and PRWE were 2.3 and 6 respectively, at 10 years. Eight patients returned to premorbid heavy labor. One patient was retired at the time of injury.Combined volar and dorsal approaches allow achieving anatomical reconstruction in comminuted intra-articular distal radius fractures and reveal good functional outcomes at intermediate and long-time follow-up.

Use of peripheral blocks and tourniquets in foot surgery: A survey of Australian orthopaedic foot and ankle surgeons.

BACKGROUND: The most common reasons for unplanned admission to the hospital from outpatient surgery have the potential to be minimised or eliminated by peripheral nerve blocks (PNB). Tourniquets are commonly used in elective extremity surgery but it's use is mostly guided by personal preferences and does no correlate with the existing literature. Our aim was to explore the current practice of PNB and tourniquet use by foot and ankle surgeons in Australia. METHODS: The Australian Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Surgery Society (AOFAS) annual meeting was held in Adelaide in 2011. Members were asked to complete an electronic survey on their current use of peripheral nerve blocks and tourniquets. Two specific elective case scenarios were included for comment, one pertaining to forefoot pathology, the other hindfoot pathology. RESULTS: Twenty-three AOFAS members replied to the survey, an overall response rate of 76.6%. Of these, only two surgeons did not use ankle blocks in elective surgery and none were prepared to operate without a tourniquet. Most Australian foot and ankle surgeons were reluctant to use local anaesthetic techniques without an accompanying GA. CONCLUSIONS: While the literature suggests that GA may add to complications without any benefit for the procedure and that distally based tourniquets may add benefit, these are not the favoured techniques in Australian foot and ankle surgeons.

Surgical management of hallux valgus and hallux rigidus: an email survey among Swiss orthopaedic surgeons regarding their current practice.

BACKGROUND: Various clinical and radiological criteria have been suggested to choose one of the numerous techniques in surgical treatment of hallux valgus and rigidus. We hypothesized that the surgeons' professional background will influence that choice depending on specialization, age, type and institution of training as well as his orthopaedic cultural orientation. Since Switzerland is characterized by regional languages (the most important being German and French), we were interested to learn if the linguistic differences had an influence on the orientation of the surgeons towards e.g. Anglo-American or French surgical traditions and/or sources of literature on the subject. METHODS: A survey was e-mailed to all members of the Swiss Orthopaedic Society (SGOT-SSOT). Questions were asked regarding respondents' demographics as well as their preferred treatment for 3 separate cases of (1) moderate and (2) severe hallux valgus and (3) hallux rigidus. The responses were collected and statistically analyzed. RESULTS: Two hundred thirty of 322 respondents completed the survey(response rate 46 %). as they perform foot surgery on a regular base; 39 % were members of the Swiss Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (SFAS). Selected surgical treatments differed as follows: in joint sparing procedures older and busier surgeons were more likely to use Chevron osteotomies, however more than 50 % preferred a Scarf-type of osteotomy. Along the so-called "Rösti-Graben" separating the French from the German speaking part of Switzerland no significant difference was found in the choice of operation technique. Nevertheless the fact being a member of SFAS showed significant differences in technical choice in case 2 and 3. CONCLUSIONS: There are significant associations between the surgeons' age, expertise and training and their preferred operative intervention. Considerable differences in the surgical management were found in the practice of the general orthopaedic surgeons 72 and the foot and ankle specialists. The cultural background and training is not mirroring the classical Swiss east west discrepancy. Despite the large number of surgical options available for hallux valgus, only a small number were preferred by the majority of surgeons.

Generation and characterization of osteochondral grafts with human nasal chondrocytes.

We investigated whether nasal chondrocytes (NC) can be used to generate composite constructs with properties necessary for the repair of osteochondral (OC) lesions, namely maturation, integration and capacity to recover from inflammatory burst. OC grafts were fabricated by combining engineered cartilage tissues (generated by culturing NC or articular chondrocytes - AC - onto Chondro-Gide® matrices) with devitalized spongiosa cylinders (Tutobone®). OC tissues were then exposed to IL-1ß for three days and cultured for additional 2 weeks in the absence of IL-1ß. Cartilage maturation extent was assessed (immune) histologically, biochemically and by delayed gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of cartilage (dGEMRIC) while cartilage/bone integration was assessed using a peel-off mechanical test. The use of NC as compared to AC allowed for more efficient cartilage matrix accumulation and superior integration of the cartilage/bone layers. dGEMRIC and biochemical analyzes of the OC constructs showed a reduced glycosaminoglycan (GAG) contents upon IL-1ß administration. Cartilaginous matrix contents and integration forces returned to baseline up on withdrawal of IL-1ß. By having a cartilage layer well developed and strongly integrated to the subchondral layer, OC tissues generated with NC may successfully engraft in an inflammatory post-surgery joint environment.

The triceps reflecting approach (Bryan-Morrey) for distal humerus fracture osteosynthesis.

BACKGROUND: "Chevron"-Olecranon osteotomies are commonly used for the approach to intraarticular distal humerus fractures but are often associated with procedure related complications. We studied the triceps reflecting approach (TRA) with preservation of the extensor apparatus as a safe alternative giving a sufficient exposure to the elbow joint and helping to achieve anatomical fracture reduction with the intact olecranon as a template. METHODS: We performed a retrospective review at two trauma centres and identified 31 skeletally mature distal humerus fractures treated with a TRA. 24 of the patients returned to follow-up including history recording, physical examination with functional analysis of the operated vs the normal site with the DASH and Mayo scores, measurement of range of motion, isometric elbow strength measurement and radiographic documentation. RESULTS: Mean duration of FU was 51 months (24 months-12 years) in 24 patients, 13 female, 11 male with an average age of 57.7 years (range 17-89). AO Classification showed five A2, one B2, two C1, 9 C2 and 7 C3 fractures. Radiologic control showed adequate reduction, distal humeral alignment and fracture healing in all patients. The strength analysis of flexion and extension revealed no statistically relevant loss of strength at last FU. Range of motion was excellent. CONCLUSION: The TRA is a valuable option for ORIF in distal intraarticular humerus fractures. It preserves the normal joint anatomy of the olecranon and avoids the potential complications associated with olecranon osteotomy. The clinical outcome parameters of our series revealed excellent maintenance of strength compared to the contralateral side.

Associated lesions in posterior wall acetabular fractures: not a valid predictor of failure.

BACKGROUND: The general outcome of posterior wall acetabular fractures is still the source of discussion. Posterior wall fractures are recognized throughout the literature as being difficult to treat. The aim of the present study was to analyze in our own patients the relevance of the classical prognostic criteria for the outcome of isolated posterior wall fractures and those with associated lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective cohort of 33 consecutive patients treated operatively between 1996 and 2006 in a single level 1 trauma center for a posterior wall fracture of the acetabulum was analyzed retrospectively. Included were posterior wall acetabular fractures or associated posterior wall fractures, such as the combinations of posterior column with posterior wall, transverse with posterior wall, or T-shaped fracture with posterior wall fracture. Outcome measurement of the postoperative survival of the hip joints until the primary outcome reoperation (total hip replacement or fusion) and secondary outcome diagnosis of symptomatic osteoarthritis were performed. RESULTS: Twenty-six of the 33 patients with posterior wall fractures also had a dislocated joint. Twelve had isolated and 21 associated fractures. Six patients were reoperated with a THA (four patients within 2 years and one after 10 years), and one arthrodesis was done to treat a hematogenous septic arthritis in a degenerative hip joint. Secondary arthritis was observed in 10 patients. CONCLUSIONS: No difference was found between the outcome in cases of isolated posterior wall acetabular fracture and the outcome in those with associated lesions. The classical prognostic criteria were not found to be relevant to the outcome for our group.