Surgical Trigger Finger Release Is Associated With New-Onset Dupuytren Contracture in the Short-Term Postoperative Period: A Matched Analysis.

BACKGROUND: This article compares the rates and time-to-development of new-onset Dupuytren disease in patients with trigger finger treated by steroid injection, surgical release, or both. METHODS: PearlDiver's Mariner 30 database was queried to identify patients with trigger finger between January 2010 and June 2019. One-to-one exact matching based on baseline patient demographics allowed us to create 4 identical groups defined by the type of trigger finger intervention received. RESULTS: The matched population analyzed in this study consisted of 85 944 patients who were equally represented in the steroid injection cohort (n = 21 486, 25.00%), surgical release cohort (n = 21 486, 25.00%), steroids prior to surgery cohort (n = 21 486, 25.00%), and no intervention (control) cohort (n = 21 486, 25.00%). A new Dupuytren diagnosis after trigger finger treatment occurred in 1 in 128 patients overall, 1 in 156 patients treated with steroid injection, and 1 in 126 patients treated with surgical release. Trigger fingers treated by steroid injection only had the lowest rates of Dupuytren disease overall (n = 137, 0.64%, P = .0424) and treatment with fasciectomy (n = 14, 0.07%, P < .0005). In all, 171 patients in the surgery cohort developed Dupuytren disease 1 year after undergoing surgical trigger finger release. Furthermore, this cohort had the highest rates of fasciectomy (n = 55, 0.26%, P < .0005) and the lowest rates of no intervention (n = 103, 0.48%, P = .0471). Trigger fingers managed by surgical release developed Dupuytren disease (mean, 56.11 days; SD, 80.93 days, log-rank P = .02) and underwent fasciectomy (mean, 49.74 days; SD, 62.27 days; log-rank P < .0005) more quickly than all other cohorts. CONCLUSIONS: Patients solely undergoing surgical release of their trigger finger had significantly higher odds and expedited rate of developing new-onset Dupuytren disease overall and undergoing subsequent treatment by fasciectomy compared with trigger fingers managed by other interventions.

Surgical Techniques Following Free Cartilage Grafting.

BACKGROUND: Reconstruction of surgical defects with free cartilage grafts poses unique challenges. OBJECTIVES: To characterize surgical techniques following free cartilage grafting. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A literature review was performed using the Embase, PubMed Medline, Cochrane Library, ClinicalTrials.gov , and Web of Science databases from inception to May 21, 2021. Studies describing free cartilage grafts harvested from the ear or nose under local anesthesia, specifically for reconstruction of facial surgical defects, were selected for inclusion. Only surgical defects resulting from tumor resection were included. RESULTS: In total, 34 studies involving 713 patients with 723 surgical defects met inclusion criteria. The mean age of patients was 63.3 ± 10.4 years. Free cartilage grafts were most commonly harvested from the ear (93.1%). The most common recipient site was the nose (90.3%), followed by the lower eyelid (6.7%) and ear (3.0%). CONCLUSION: Free cartilage grafts are an effective reconstructive option for patients with deep or cartilaginous defects that have compromised structural support on the nose, ear, or eyelid.

Osteoplastic Thumb Reconstruction in the Immediate Setting: A Case Series.

Background: Traumatic thumb amputation can have devastating effects on residual hand function. When replantation is not possible, thumb reconstruction is often performed in a delayed manner and may require multiple stages. Furthermore, reconstruction techniques often require microsurgical skills and equipment, which are not readily available at all institutions. This case series illustrates our technique for immediate osteoplastic thumb reconstruction following traumatic amputation. Methods: This is a case series involving all patients who sustained unreplantable thumb amputations and underwent immediate osteoplastic thumb reconstruction with bone autograft and pedicled groin flap by the senior author from September 2016 through August 2018. Results: Five patients underwent immediate osteoplastic thumb reconstruction during the study period. Total operative time for the initial osteoplastic reconstruction averaged 158 minutes (range 96-290 minutes). In addition to flap division surgery, patients underwent an average of 1.2 revision procedures (range 0-2), primarily for debulking and hardware removal. Patients achieved an average gain in length of 3.3 cm compared with the maximum anticipated length with revision amputation at the time of injury, and had stable clinical outcomes for a minimum of 12 months. Conclusions: Osteoplastic thumb reconstruction is a useful technique for thumb reconstruction for select patients following traumatic thumb amputation. Advantages of this approach include shorter overall operative times and hospital length of stay, minimal donor site morbidity, and a straightforward, reproducible technique.

Understanding Breast Implant Illness, Before and After Explantation: A Patient-Reported Outcomes Study.

BACKGROUND: Breast implant illness (BII) after aesthetic breast augmentation remains a poorly defined syndrome encompassing a wide spectrum of symptoms. While previously published series have observed overall symptomatic improvement after breast implant removal, there is a lack of studies evaluating changes in specific symptoms over time. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of symptoms associated with BII, and to evaluate how these symptoms change after removal of breast implants and total capsulectomy (explantation). We hypothesized that patients presenting with BII would experience both immediate and sustained improvement in constitutional symptoms after explantation. METHODS: A retrospective study of all patients who underwent explantation by a single surgeon over 2 years was conducted. Repeated-measures analysis of variance accounting for dependency was used to compare symptoms before and after surgery. Multivariate analyses and linear regression models were used to examine the impact of patient- and implant-related factors on changes in symptoms. RESULTS: Seven hundred fifty patients met inclusion criteria. Mean preoperative survey score (26.19 ± 11.24) was significantly different from mean postoperative survey score at less than 30 days (9.49 ± 7.56) and greater than 30 days (9.46 ± 7.82, P < 0.001). Patients with a BMI greater than 30 or those with clinically detectable contracture on examination showed greater improvement on their survey scores (P = 0.039, 0.034, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Although BII encompasses a large range of symptoms, subjects in this study demonstrated significant and sustained improvement in 11 common symptom domains. This improvement was demonstrable within the first 30 days postoperatively and was maintained beyond 30 days. The study demonstrated a strong association of explantation and specific symptom improvement within the patient population studied. Future investigation will further elucidate possible biologic phenomena to better characterize the pathophysiology and mechanism of BII.

Targeted Muscle Reinnervation to Improve Pain, Prosthetic Tolerance, and Bioprosthetic Outcomes in the Amputee.

Scope and Significance: There are ∼185,000 amputations each year and nearly 2 million amputees currently living in the United States. Approximately 25% of these amputees will experience chronic pain issues secondary to localized neuroma pain and/or phantom limb pain. Problem: The significant discomfort caused by neuroma and phantom limb pain interferes with prosthesis wear, subjecting amputees to the additional physical and psychological morbidity associated with chronic immobility. Although numerous neuroma treatments are described, none of these methods are consistently effective in eliminating symptoms. Translational Relevance: Targeted muscle reinnervation (TMR) is a surgical technique involving the transfer of residual peripheral nerves to redundant target muscle motor nerves, restoring physiological continuity and encouraging organized nerve regeneration to decrease and potentially prevent the chaotic and misdirected nerve growth, which can contribute to pain experienced within the residual limb. Clinical Relevance: TMR represents one of the more promising treatments for neuroma pain. Prior research into "secondary" TMR performed in a delayed manner after amputation has shown great improvement in treating amputee pain issues because of peripheral nerve dysfunction. "Primary" TMR performed at the time of amputation suggests that it may prevent neuroma formation while avoiding the risks associated with a delayed procedure. In addition, TMR permits the target muscles to act as bioamplifiers to direct bioprosthetic control and function. Summary: TMR has the potential to treat pain from neuromas while enabling amputee patients to return to their activities of daily living and improve prosthetic use and tolerance. Recent research in the areas of secondary (i.e., delayed) and primary TMR aims to optimize efficacy and efficiency and demonstrates great potential for establishing a new standard of care for amputees.

Fear of Falling Correlates with Subtle Neuromuscular Balance and Strength Deficits of Fragility Fracture Patients.

Fragility fractures, or fractures occurring from a low-trauma event, are extremely prevalent among the elderly population worldwide and associated with significant mortality and morbidity. This study evaluated the relationship between FES-I Fear of Falling Survey results, self-reported activity restrictions via the SF-36 survey, and scores recorded by portable, inexpensive clinical assessment tools (CATs) during dynamic functional tasks. Low scores during these tasks may indicate functional deficits that put patients at risk for falls and subsequent fragility fractures. Forty-one subjects (20 fragility fracture patients, 21 controls without history of fragility fractures) over the age of 50 were recruited from three outpatient orthopaedic clinics. All subjects were administered a FES-I Fear of Falling Survey, a portion of an SF-36 survey, and tested using three different portable CATs: the Wii Balance Board, iPod Level Belt and Saehan Squeeze Hand Grip Dynamometer. There were several measured variables that showed a moderate correlation with Fear of Falling scores. Of note, correlations between FES-I scores and maximum hand grip strength for both the dominant hand (R= -0.302, p=0.069) and non-dominant hand (R= -0.309, p=0.059), as well as maximum anterior-posterior sway measured by the iPod Level Belt (R=0.320, p=0.056) were found to be marginally significant. In addition, the correlation between FES-I and average anterior-posterior sway was found to be significant (R=0.416, p=0.012). The Nintendo Wii and iPod Level Belt are relatively inexpensive, portable tools that can assess patients for subtle deficits during dynamic functional tasks. The results indicate that these tools can provide a more objective measure of a patient's limitations during daily activities such as walking by assigning them a numerical value and correlating this value to physical deficits that impact balance and coordination. In the future, CATs may also have a role in predicting outcomes and in individualizing care, therapy, and at-home preventive measures.

Clinical assessment tools identify functional deficits in fragility fracture patients.

PURPOSE: To identify inexpensive, noninvasive, portable, clinical assessment tools that can be used to assess functional performance measures that may put older patients at risk for falls such as balance, handgrip strength, and lumbopelvic control. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty fragility fracture patients and 21 healthy control subjects were evaluated using clinical assessment tools (Nintendo Wii Balance Board [WBB], a handheld dynamometer, and an application for the Apple iPod Touch, the Level Belt) that measure functional performance during activity of daily living tasks. The main outcome measurements were balance (WBB), handgrip strength (handheld dynamometer), and lumbopelvic control (iPod Touch Level Belt), which were compared between fragility fracture patients and healthy controls. RESULTS: Fragility fracture patients had lower scores on the vertical component of the WBB Torso Twist task (P=0.042) and greater medial-lateral lumbopelvic sway during a 40 m walk (P=0.026) when compared to healthy controls. Unexpectedly, the fracture patients had significantly higher scores on the left leg (P=0.020) and total components (P=0.010) of the WBB Single Leg Stand task as well as less faults during the left Single Leg Stand task (P=0.003). CONCLUSION: The clinical assessment tools utilized in this study are relatively inexpensive and portable tools of performance measures capable of detecting differences in postural sway between fragility fracture patients and controls.