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Biomedical subjects

G M Gardner

Publications and source records attributed to G M Gardner.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Long-term morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing surgery for unilateral vocal cord paralysis.

Fifty-six patients who had undergone surgery for unilateral vocal cord paralysis (UVCP) were reviewed retrospectively. The etiologies; indications for surgery; timing of onset, diagnosis and surgery; complications; and survival rates are presented. Forty patients had neoplasms of which 32 were malignant and 8 were benign. UVCP was due to direct tumor involvement in 16 cases and surgical trauma in 21 cases. Mean survival for patients who presented with UVCP which was due directly to a malignancy was 5 months versus 22 months for those patients with UVCP due to surgical trauma during resection of malignancies. Mean survival for lung cancer patients was 5 months versus 24 months for patients with other malignancies. The etiology and manner of presentation of UVCP are important prognostic indicators which should be considered when planning surgical intervention for UVCP.

Adolescent

Bilateral vocal cord hematomas associated with shoulder harness use.

A case of bilateral vocal cord hematomas caused by a shoulder harness injury is presented. The patient was restrained by a three-point belt system and was involved in a front-end collision. She presented with mild facial and chest injuries and a contusion of the neck. One hour after injury she began to complain of hoarseness without airway compromise. Fiberoptic laryngoscopy showed bilateral true vocal cord hematomas. The patient had an uneventful hospital course and a full recovery. The importance of the mechanism of injury and associated injuries is discussed.

Accidents, Traffic

Family cancer syndrome: a study of the kindred of a man with osteogenic sarcoma of the mandible.

Several familial cancer syndromes have been identified. The syndrome of sarcomas, breast cancer and other neoplasms, known as Li-Fraumeni syndrome, is characterized by several different neoplasms presenting at young ages with autosomal dominant transmission and a high incidence of second primaries. In this paper, we studied six generations (51 people) of the family of a 24-year-old man with osteogenic sarcoma of the mandible. Twelve malignancies in 11 people, including several rare tumors, were revealed. Mean age of presentation was 24 years old. Nine of the 11 patients died of disease. One developed a second primary. Two tumors presented in the head and neck. Transmission was autosomal dominant. The karyotypes of two family members were normal. Identification of Li-Fraumeni syndrome in a family is important in determining appropriate follow-up for the patient and family. Such families are models for studying carcinogenesis.

Adolescent

Function following partial fibulectomy.

The fibula is a valuable source of a bone graft, but because the fibula has a role in lower extremity function, it is important to determine whether partial removal results in dysfunction or other problems. Forty-one patients (48 +/- 10 years of age) had a portion of their fibula removed for a bone graft. At evaluation 27 +/- 8 months later, 24 had no pain, 11 mild pain, and six moderate or severe pain. Sixteen had no complaints of any kind, but four without pain had minor difficulties with vigorous activities, and three complained of ankle swelling. There were no differences in range of motion between the operated and nonoperated side. Average muscle torque was lower on the operated than on the nonoperated side, but this difference was statistically significant only for ankle evertors in men. This study demonstrates that most patients will have subjective complaints and mild muscular weakness after removal of a portion of the fibula.

Adult

Roentgenographic findings following anterior cervical fusion.

We reviewed the pre- and postoperative lateral cervical roentgenograms in 90 patients who had anterior fusions and compared their findings with age and sex-matched people without neck problems. The average interval from surgery to review was 5 years. Preoperatively, all patients had a higher incidence of degenerative spondylosis at the levels to be fused than their asymptomatic counterparts. Postoperatively, there was no difference in the incidence of degenerative change between the operated and the control group at the levels above and below the fusion with the exception of anterior osteophyte formation which was more frequent in those with fusions.

Cervical Vertebrae

Correlations between objective measures of function and a clinical knee rating scale following total knee replacement.

Few objective measurements of function, other than range of motion, have been reported for patients with total condylar knee replacement. Moreover, to our knowledge, no studies have been reported which assess the degree of relationship between clinical ratings and measurements of function in these patients. Kinesiologic tests of function and the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) Knee Rating Form were used to evaluate 34 patients before and 2 years after 39 total condylar knee replacements. Prosthetic alignment was also evaluated postoperatively. The kinesiologic studies showed postoperative improvement in muscle strength, weight-bearing ability, and use of assistive devices, and in velocity, knee flexion-extension, and lateral head motion during walking. A moderate but significant degree of improvement was measured by the HSS score. Correlation coefficients showed that the postoperative knee rating score was significantly related to almost all of the postoperative objective measurements of function. Correlation coefficients between the prosthetic alignment scores and measurements of function were not statistically significant. The study strengthens the validity of use of the HSS Knee Rating Form as a tool for evaluating functional performance, particularly during the postoperative period.

Aged

Comparison of function two years after revision of failed total hip arthroplasty and primary hip arthroplasty.

Because of the known high complication rate, it is important for both the patient and physician to know as much as possible about the outcome of revision operations for loosened total hip arthroplasties. This study evaluates the changes in subjective ratings and objective kinesiologic measurements from before revision operations through two years after revision operations. The object is to compare these measurements with the measurements of a group of patients with primary replacements. Both groups of patients showed significant improvement in most parameters from before to after surgery. These parameters included walking performance, hip muscle strength, range of motion, forces applied to canes, and the amount of weight borne on the operated limb during quiet standing. Compared to the control group with primary replacements, the group with revision used more assistive devices, had less pain relief, walked slower, had less hip motion, and had more lateral lurch. While results after revision surgery were not as gratifying as those after primary hip replacement, patients requiring revision can still anticipate substantial improvement.

Adult

Shoulder-muscle strength and range of motion following surgical repair of full-thickness rotator-cuff tears.

Postoperative measurements of the range of motion and muscle strength of the shoulder and ratings of pain and the ability to perform daily activities were made in fifty-eight patients (sixty-three shoulders) who had a repair of a full-thickness rotator-cuff tear. Postoperatively, the patients had an average of 126 degrees of active flexion of the shoulder and an average of 130 degrees of active abduction. Passive motion averaged 21 degrees more than active motion. The strength of the abductor muscles of the shoulder averaged approximately 86 per cent of normal. Most patients reported marked relief of pain and rated themselves as having mild or no deficits in their ability to perform daily activities. The length of the cuff tear significantly affected the functional results. Short tears (less than 2.5 centimeters) were associated with greater strength and range of motion than were long tears. Fifteen of the nineteen patients who were unable to work preoperatively because of the shoulder returned to work after surgery, but not necessarily to the same type of work that they had done before the onset of the problem with the shoulder.

Acromion

Strength and range of motion in the ankle in two age groups of men and women.

Strength and range of motion of the ankle were measured in 20 normal men and 20 normal women divided equally into two age groups (25-35 and 50-60 years). Total range of dorsiflexion/plantar flexion averaged 75 degrees and the total range of inversion/eversion averaged 28 degrees. Few significant differences in range of motion were found between age groups, between men and women, or between dominant and nondominant limbs. Mean torque values for the men were greater than those for the women for all four muscle groups tested (plantar flexors, dorsiflexors, invertors and evertors). Strength of the women ranged from 62 to 70 percent of that of the men, depending upon muscle group. A multiple regression analysis showed that after the variability in muscle strength due to height and lean body weight had been taken into account, the additional variance accounted for by gender was very small. Differences in torque between age groups were not statistically significant. Differences in strength between dominant and nondominant limbs were significant only for the plantar flexors and dorsiflexors of the men.

Adult

Treadmill vs. floor walking: kinematics, electromyogram, and heart rate.

To identify the degree of difference between treadmill and floor walking, kinematic, electromyographic (EMG), and heart rate measurements were recorded in seven normal female subjects during walking at three speeds on the treadmill and on the floor. During treadmill walking, subjects tended to use a faster cadence and shorter stride length than during floor walking. In addition the displacements of the head, hip, and ankle in the sagittal plane showed statistically significant differences between floor and treadmill walking. Average EMG activity was usually greater on the treadmill than on the floor; however, this difference was only significant for the quadriceps. Heart rate was significantly higher during fast treadmill walking than floor walking. In general, treadmill walking was not found to differ markedly from floor walking in kinematic measurements or EMG patterns.

Adult

Hip function after total vs. surface replacement.

Kinesiologic measurements were made in two groups of 20 men before and 6 and 24 months after resurfacing or conventional replacement. Before surgery the group to have resurfacing was younger, had less pain, slightly more hip motion, greater muscle strength, walked faster, and used fewer assistive devices during walking than the group to have the conventional replacement. After surgery, the group with resurfacing maintained its advantage in muscle strength and walking velocity.

Age Factors

Functional performance after tibial rotationplasty.

We measured muscle strength, joint motion, and gait parameters and determined the electromyographic activities of the ankle and knee during walking, running, and stair-climbing in two children who had had a tibial rotationplasty for osteosarcoma of the distal end of the femur. Both had marked loss of strength in the plantar flexors on the side of the prosthesis compared with the sound side, although electromyographic recordings showed that the rotated calf muscles, to a substantial degree, had assumed the function of extensors of the prosthetic knee. Despite some abnormalities in gait, both children walked at speeds that were comparable to those of normal children. They could also run, climb stairs by stepping up with both limbs, and participate in many recreational activities. The functional abilities of these children suggested that rotationplasty, in patients with a similar lesion, is a worth-while alternative to above-the-knee amputation.

Artificial Limbs

A comparison of the funtional performance of patients with Charnley and Müller total hip replacement. A two-year follow-up of eighty-nine cases.

Measurements of functional performance in 35 cases with Charnley total hip replacement were compared with those of 54 cases with Müller replacement before surgery and at 6- and 24-month follow-up intervals. The measurements included strength of the hip abductor and adductor muscles, hip motion, the amount of weight borne on the involved limb during standing posture, multiple components of free-speed and fast walking, and force applied to canes and crutches. Both replacement groups improved significantly in most components of function. In fact, both groups reached or nearly reached the lower limits of normal variability in weight-bearing ability, cadence, and some components which relate to smoothness of walking performance. The groups with Müller and Charnley replacement differed most in some components of range of hip motion, hip muscle strength, and lateral lurching during walking.

Adult

Function of the triceps surae during gait. Compensatory mechanisms for unilateral loss.

We studied the gait of a woman who was normal except for surgical excision of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles. She was able to compensate for nearly all of her abnormalites of gait by excessive lateral pelvic tilt and prolonged quadriceps activity. Her mild disability, as regards gait, consisted of inability to increase walking speeds beyond the normal pacing. However, despite uneven step lengths, she had uniform forward progression. She had excessive dorsiflexion of the ankle and diminished plantar flexion on the involved side even though the retained plantar flexors could provide 38 per cent of her normal plantar flexor strength.

Adult

Walking patterns of men with parkinsonism.

Interrupted-light photography was used to record the simultaneous displacement patterns of multiple body segments of 44 patients with parkinsonism during free-speed and fast walking to quantitatively characterize their gait peculiarities. The patients were categorized into three disability groups according to their independence in activities of daily living. Their measurements of walking performance were compared to those of normal men. The gait components of the patients, which related systematically to the degree of disability, were: step lengths, vertical excursions of the head, extension of the hip and knee of the backward-directed limb at the onset of contralateral weight bearing, toe-floor distance at the onset of weight bearing, and rotation of the thorax.

Activities of Daily Living

Maximum isometric knee flexor and extensor muscle contractions: normal patterns of torque versus time.

Isometric torque of the knee flexor and extensor muscles were recorded for 5 seconds at three knee joint positions. The subjects included healthy men in age groups from 20 to 35 and 45 to 65 years of age. The amplitudes and duration of peak torque and the time to peak torque were measured for each contraction. Peak torque was usually maintaned less than 0.1 second and never longer than 0.9 second. At each of the three angles, the mean extensor muscle torque was higher than the mean flexor muscle torque in both age groups, and the mean torque for both muscle group was higher among the younger than among the older man. The highest average torque was recorded at the knee angle of 60 degrees for the extensor muscles and 45 degrees for the flexor muscles, but this was not always a stereotyped response either for a given individual or among individuals.

Adult

Roentgenographic measurements after Müller total hip replacement. Correlations among roentgenographic measurements and hip strength and mobility.

In fifty-two patients with Müller total hip replacement, roentgenographic measurements of prosthetic component positioning were correlated with hip-muscle strength and mobility measurements. Compared with the normal side, the average position of the center of the prosthetic head was more medial and superior in the pelvis, and the greater trochanter was more distal and lateral. Increasing neck length (distance from the center of the prosthetic head to the lesser trochanter) and a more distal position of the greater trochanter were among the measurements that related favorably to measurements of patient function. More superior placement of the center of the prosthetic head in the pelvis was associated with a more superior position of the lesser trochanter, which related adversely to function.

Aged

A comparison of plantar flexion torque with and without the triceps surae.

Torque generated about the ankle joints during maximum isometric contraction of the plantar flexor muscles was measured on a subject 4 months after unilateral excision of the entire triceps surae. Resulting torque output on the operated limb was 327 kg-cm, or 38 per cent of the 871 kg-cm total for the sound limb.

Biomechanical Phenomena