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Biomedical subjects

V L Nickel

Publications and source records attributed to V L Nickel.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1979

Treatment of unreduced traumatic posterior dislocations of the hip.

A study was made of thirty-nine traumatic posterior dislocations of the hip that had remained unreduced for from three days to nine years. The purpose of the review was to compare the results of closed and open reduction with those of primary reconstructive surgery. Three of the twenty hips that had closed or open reduction had good results as compared with ten of the thirteen hips that had primary reconstructive surgery. Six hips that were left dislocated had uniformly poor results.

Acetabulum↗
PubMed1978

Heterotopic ossification around the hip in spinal cord-injured patients. A long-term follow-up study.

Twenty patients with spinal cord injury complicated by ossification around the hip were followed for eighteen months or more. The bone scan, roentgenogram, level of alkaline phosphatase, and range of hip motion of each patient were analyzed. The average follow-up was forty months. The heterotopic ossification usually did not mature until after one and one-half years. The roentgenograms were of no value in judging its maturity. The bone scan correlated well with the results of the alkaline phosphatase testing in judging maturity of the ossification. We concluded that before operative resection, a patient should have a normal level of alkaline phosphatase, decreasing activity on the bone scans, and a restriction of motion to less than 50 degrees of hip flexion.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

The halo vest: an evaluation of motion and forces across the neck.

Flexion-extension motion and compression-distraction forces across the cervical spine were evaluated in 6 patients in halo vests and in 1 patient in a halo cast. Motion in the vest was evaluated in supine and upright positions and averaged 31% of normal motion at the levels tested. Compression-distraction forces showed great individual variation and frequent compression. The average distraction force varied in different positions by nearly 20 pounds in the vest and over 30 pounds in the cast. Methods of improving cervical spine stability in halo orthoses are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Complications with use of the Stryker frame.

Roentgenograms were made of two patients with acute dislocations of the cervical spine who were undergoing treatment on Stryker frames with cervical traction. Losses of reduction were evident when the patients were turned from the supine to the prone position. The pulmonary vital capacity of patients with complete traumatic quadriplegia consistently decreased when they were turned to the prone position. Prolonged supine positioning of patients on the Stryker frame also caused occipital decubitus ulcers.

Humans↗
PubMed1977

Rancho flotation bed.

The Rancho Flotation Bed provides hydrostatic support with maximum pressures over bony prominences of 15 to 25 mm Hg (measured with a pneumatic pressure transducer). This is generally below the levels normally quoted as conducive to the development of ischaemia. Clinical experience has shown the bed to be a successful aid to nursing by eliminating the need to turn the patients for pressure reasons, allowing patients with pressure sores to remain in a position which is more comfortable and more suitable for other nursing care. It also makes it easier for nurses to handle patients in order to care for the pressure sores.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Evolution of treatment of paralytic scoliosis at Rancho Los Amigos Hospital.

Between 1954 and 1970, 351 patients with severe paralytic scoliosis were treated at Rancho Los Amigos Hospital. During this time the treatment evolved through five stages: body cast alone, halo cast, halo cast with buttons and traction wires, Harrington instrumentation, and finally preoperative halo-femoral traction and Harrington instrumentation. Coincident with this evolution, correction improved from 20 to 57 per cent, the incidence of curve progression dropped from 38 to 0 per cent, and curve extension decreased from 25 to 0 per cent, while postoperative recumbency was reduced from one year to about three weeks. In addition, complications changed, in general decreasing except for the rate of pseudarthrosis, which remained essentially the same. Clinically significant hyperlordosis involving the thoracic and lumbar spine was seen in sixteen patients who had long fusions from the fourth cervical vertebra and above to the fourth lumbar vertebra or the sacrum.

Braces↗