Bone Plates ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; methods ; Fractures, Bone ; surgery ; Humans ; Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures ; methods

Complications are always likely to occur in the treatment of fractures. Once fracture-related complications occur,their management will be difficuh,resulting in a long handling process that increases physical and financial pain on the patients.Fea- turing“management of fracture-related complications”,this issue intends to draw attention from orthopaedists to the challenging task of prophylaxis and treatment of such problems in clinic.Not only non-union,malunion,heterotopic ossification,bone necrosis but also such systemic complications as deep vain thrombosis,soft tissue infection and necrosis are discussed.They involve long tubular bones,pelvic,proximal femur,tibial plateau and calcaneum.Authors introduce their experience from their clinical practice which can benefit readers a lot.It is well known that an effective prevention is the best treatment.In treatment of fractures,principles must be strictly followed and preventive measures taken throughout the whole process.Once a complication has been detected,therapy should be individualized 1o gain the best outcome.

Objective To retrospectively evaluate effects of early dynamization of interlocking intramedullary nail on union of tibial shaft fractures.Methods From January 2002 to Septemher 2004,75 patients with tibial shaft fractures were treated in our department with internal fixation using static interlocking iutramedullary nails.Early dy- namization(6 to 10 weeks postoperative)was adopted in 32 patients (the dynamic group) according to the fracture con- ditions,while the other 43 patients were treated without early dynamization (the non-dynamic group).The healing time of fractures and the rate of delayed union in both groups were documented.Results All the cases were followed up for a mean duration of 6.5 months (range,4 to 13 months).The mean healing time was 115.6 days (range,105 to 126 days) in the dynamic group and 124.5 days (range,119 to 133 days) in the non-dynamic group.The difference was statistically significant between the two groups (P＜0.05).There were two cases (6.2%) of delayed union in the dynamic group and four (9.4%) in the non-dynamic group.The difference was not significant (P＞0.05). Conclusion Early dynamization of interlocking intramedullary nail can promote union of tibial shaft fractures.

BACKGROUND:Using three dimensional (3D) reconstruction techniques,any part of body is accessible to visual observation.However,reports concerning 3D reconstruction of craniofacial vascularity based on PC are few in China.OBJECTIVE:To explore the method and the application values of reconstructing a digital 3D model of craniofacial vascularity based on the data of CT strengthening scanning.METHODS:CT strengthening scan images from a healthy volunteer in DICOM format were imported into Mimics 10.01 software and craniofacial blood vessels were reconstructed with the technique of thresholding,editing and 3D region growing.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The 3D digital model of craniofacial blood vessels was obtained.This model could be zoomed and rotated randomly and displayed the spatial positions and adjacent relationships of different anatomical structures,also the reconstructed structures could be measured in 3D space.The 3D digital model of craniofacial blood vessels can be reconstructed conveniently and quickly with Mimics software on PC,and also it can bring morphological reference to human anatomy teaching,clinical neurosurgery,oral and maxillofacial surgery,as well as image diagnosis,and will be helpful to generate a virtual plateform in craniofacial surgery.

Clavicle ; injuries ; Fractures, Bone ; therapy ; Humans

Objective To explore the isometricity of grafts in ACL(anterior cruciate ligament)recon- struction under bone tunnel shifting condition.Methods Knee specimens from ten fresh frozen cadavers were used. Femoral tunnels of 2 mm were drilled at three points on the medial aspect of the lateral condyle.The first was“anterior bundle point”(located at the 11 o'clock position in the right knee and 1 o'clock position in the left knee).The second was“error point”(located at the place 5 mm anterior and distal to the“anterior bundle point”).The third was“posterior bundle point”(located at the crossing point of the long axis of the ACL attachment and a vertical line drawn across the femoral-tibial contact point with the knee flexed at 90?).Moreover,tibial tunnels of 2 mm were drilled at three points on the tibial plateau.The first was“central point”(located at the center of original insertion of ACL).The second was“5 mm posterior point”,located at the place 5 mm posterior to the“central point”.The third was“10 mm posterior point”,located at the place 10 mm posterior to the“central point”.Changes in distance between each pair of tibial and femoral tunnels were measured during passive knee flexion-extension.Results The anterior-posterior shifting of the tibial tunnel was found to have little influence(P＞0.05)on the isometricity after the femoral tunnel had been chosen.However,the shifting of the femoral tunnel was found to have significant influence(P＜0.01)on the isometricity.Changes in distance related to the“anterior bundle point”led to lengths within the physiologic isometric range.Changes in distance related to the“error point”led to lengthening(ligament stretching)beyond the physiologic isometric range.Changes in distance related to the“posterior bundle point”led to shortening(ligment relaxing)beyond the physiologic isometric range.Conclusion Anterior-posterior shifting of the tibial tunnel between the center of original insertion and posterior edge of inter-tibial eminence area has little influence on the isometricity of grafts in ACL double bundle reconstruction.

Objective To compare proximal femoral nail(PFN)introduction by percutaneous K-wire through a small incision with conventional PFN introduction protocol in the treatment of intertrochanteric fractures. Methods From January 2004 to March 2005,51 patients with intertrochanteric fractures were randomly dis- tributed into a minimally invasive treatment group(group MI)and a conventional treatment group(group C).All the fractures were closely reduced.In group MI a K-wire was percutaneously inserted through the tip of the greater troehanter into the center of medullary canal of the pruximal femur before the PFN was inserted under the guidance of K-wire through a small incision made along the K-wire while in group C the PFN was introduced according to the conventional procedure.The operation time,intra-operative blood loss,length of incision,X-ray exposure,duration of in-patient stay and time of bone union in both groups were recorded and compared.Results The mean oper- ation time,mean intraoperative blood loss and mean length of incisions in group MI were 77.20 min,104.20 mL and 5.12 cm respectively and significantly lower than those in group C(P＜0.01).The X-ray exposure and the reduction time in group MI lasted longer than in group C(P＜0.01).The mean time of bone union and in-patient stay in both groups were nearly equal(P＞0.05).At the latest tollow-up,all the fractures united in both groups without nonuuion or delayed union.Conclusion Compared with the conventional protocol,introduction of PFN by a pereutaneuus K-wire inserted into the central medullary canal of the proximal femur is much more minimally in- vasive and effective.

Objective To explore the application and clinical outcome of intracapsular reduction for comminuted distal radial fractures.Methods From January 2003 to October 2005,37 cases of comminuted fractures of distal radius were treated in our hospital.They were categorized according to the AO classification,and underwent open intracapsular reduction,internal fixation with either locking com- pressing plate(LCP)or external fixator according to the types of fractures.The results of treatment were evaluated by functions and X-ray examination of involved wrists.Results All the 37 patients were fol- lowed up regularly.Satisfied synostosis by X-ray had been acquired.The wrist functions were evaluated by the Gartland and Werley system to find excellent result in 26 cases,good in eight,fair in two,and poor in one,with the excellent and good rate of 92%.Conclusion For the treatment of comminuted distal radial fractures,open intracapsular reduction can obtain fast fracture healing and recovery of wrist joint function.

Objective To investigate the effects of external fixator with dynamic device under low frequency and controlled micromovement on the callus calcification and mechanical property of healing bone.MethodsForty-five sheep were performed transverse osteotomy with a gap of 2 mm on the mid-shafts of both tibias,and the hind limbs were fixed with unilateral external fixators connected to a controlled micromovement device.Ten days after osteotomy,one hind limb of each sheep was randomly selected for micromovement(30 min/d).According to different micromovement frequencies,the sheep were randomly divided into 3 groups: 0.5 Hz group,1 Hz group and 5 Hz group(n=15).The amplitude of micromovement was 0.25 mm and the micromovement stopped by the end of the fourth week postoperation.The other hind limb of each sheep was served as control group without micromovement.Morphometry of callus was done at the end of 4,6 and 9 weeks after osteotomy.Bone formation velocity,bone mineral density and biomechanical properties were compared at the end of 9 weeks.Results The areas of mineralized bone and osteoid in different miromovement groups were larger than that of control group at the end of 4,6 weeks postoperation(P

Objective To observe the changes of osteoblasts and vascularization during osteogenesis by tissue engineering technique under the electron microscope and study the feasibility of improving vascularization of the tissue engineering bone by using the small intestine submucosa(SIS) as the scaffold. Methods The bone mesenchymal stem cells(BMSCs) were isolated by using the gradient centrifuge method.BMSCs were seeded in the SIS.The scaffold-cell constructs were cultured in vitro for two weeks.There were no cells on the SIS as control.They were implanted subcutaneously in the dorsa of the athymic mice.The implants were harvested after(in vivo) incubation for 4,8 and 12 weeks.The changes of osteoblasts and vascularization were observed under the transmission electron microscope and the scanning electron microscope. Results The BMSCs grew quite well.BMSCs differentiated on the surface of the SIS and secreted a great deal of extracellular matrices.The scaffold-cell constructs formed a lot of bone and vessels in vivo.The scaffold degraded after 12 weeks.No osteoblasts but vascularization and fibroblasts were observed as control. Conclusion SIS can be used as the scaffold for constructing tissue engineering bone as it can improve the formation of bone and vessels in vivo.