Internal fixation of complex fractures of the proximal humerus.
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There is a recent interest for the use of angle-fixed plates in the management of proximal humerus fractures. Rigid implants might be associated with an increased risk of cutting-out. In order to analyse the potential beneficial effects of the implant elasticity on fracture fixation, the biomechanical properties of a rigid and an elastic angle-fixed plating system were assessed in an experimental study. An unstable fracture of the surgical neck was created in 8 pairs of human humeri. Specimens were subjected to axial loading and torque. Stiffness, subsidence and load to failure were assessed. The implant with elastic properties was characterized by a lower torsional stiffness and a higher subsidence during axial loading and torque. This implant failed at lower loads than the rigid implant did. Elastic implant properties of angle-fixed plates have shown not to be advantageous for the management of fractures of the proximal humerus.
A prospective, randomized, double-blind study was performed to evaluate the effects of antibiotic prophylaxis on the development of a wound infection in 239 patients who had immediate stabilization of a fracture of the proximal part of the femur with a dynamic hip screw. The effects of two perioperative doses of cefotiam, given twelve hours apart, were compared with those of two doses of a placebo. Sixteen perioperative risk factors were evaluated to determine whether it was possible to identify patients who were at risk for a wound infection. All patients were followed for a minimum of six weeks. Antibiotic prophylaxis significantly reduced the prevalence of wound infection (p < 0.05): the rate of major wound infection decreased from 5 to 1 per cent and the rate of minor wound infection, from 11 to 4 per cent. The most powerful predictors of major wound infection were the duration of the operation, the interval between the accident and admission to the hospital, and the duration of postoperative urinary catheterization. The preoperative level of serum albumin and the absolute lymphocyte count were significant predictors (p < 0.05) of minor wound infection and systemic infection, respectively.
The purpose of this retrospective study was to determine the long-term functional and radiographic outcomes in a series of young adults (less than forty-five years old) in whom an acute displaced intra-articular fracture of the distal aspect of the radius had been treated with operative reduction and stabilization. Twenty-six fractures in twenty-six patients met the initial inclusion criteria for the study. Twenty-one patients returned for a physical examination, imaging (plain radiographs and computerized tomography scans), and completion of a validated musculoskeletal function assessment questionnaire at a minimum of 5.5 years. The physical examinations were performed by the same observer, who was not involved in the initial care of the patients. The plain radiographs and computerized tomography scans were assessed in a blinded fashion by two independent observers who measured the radiographic parameters with standardized methods. At an average of 7.1 years, osteoarthrosis of the radiocarpal joint was evident on the plain radiographs and computerized tomography scans of sixteen (76 per cent) of the twenty-one wrists. A strong association was found between the development of osteoarthrosis of the radiocarpal joint and residual displacement of articular fragments at the time of osseous union (p < 0.01). However, the functional status at the time of the most recent follow-up, as determined by physical examination and on the basis of the responses on the questionnaire, did not correlate with the magnitude of the residual step and gap displacement at the time of fracture-healing. All patients had a good or excellent functional outcome irrespective of radiographic evidence of osteoarthrosis of the radiocarpal or the distal radio-ulnar joint or non-union of the ulnar styloid process. It appears prudent therefore to base the indications for salvage operative procedures on the presence of severe symptoms or a loss of function rather than on radiographic evidence of osteoarthrosis of the radiocarpal joint.
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BACKGROUND: Several studies have compared different methods for fixation of the midpart of the humeral shaft, but there are only scattered data regarding which type of plate construct provides the best fixation for humeral nonunion. The objectives of this study were (1) to obtain objective data on the performance of four different plate constructs used for fixation of humeral nonunion, and (2) to report our clinical experience with plate fixation of thirty-seven nonunions of the midpart of the humeral shaft. METHODS: In the first part of the study, four plate constructs were compared in a Sawbones model. The groups consisted of (1) a posterior limited-contact dynamic compression plate alone; (2) a posterior limited-contact dynamic compression plate and an interfragmentary screw; (3) a posterior limited-contact dynamic compression plate, a lateral 3.5-mm reconstruction plate, and an interfragmentary screw; and (4) a posterior limited-contact dynamic compression plate and a lateral 3.5-mm reconstruction plate. Tests were performed with use of an MTS Bionix machine in anterior-posterior four-point bending, medial-lateral four-point bending, and external rotation torque. In the second part of the study, the charts of thirty-seven consecutive patients in whom a nonunion of the midpart of the humeral shaft had been treated with plate fixation were reviewed retrospectively. The average age of the patients was forty-eight years (range, thirteen to seventy-eight years). Nineteen patients were treated with a single posterior plate, and eighteen were treated with a two-plate construct with the plates parallel and lying at 90 degrees to each other. All of the nonunions were treated with bone-grafting, and an interfragmentary screw was used in thirty-six of the thirty-seven patients. Radiographs and the clinical status were evaluated at an average of thirteen months postoperatively. RESULTS: The biomechanical testing showed that the two-plate constructs were significantly stiffer than the single-plate constructs in all test modes (p < 0.05). In the clinical part of the study, thirty-four (92%) of the nonunions healed without complications at an average of 4.8 months. Two nonunions treated with the two-plate construct and one treated with one plate failed to heal. CONCLUSIONS: No significant difference in the healing rate was found between the two clinical groups (p = 0.4, beta = 0.9), and the overall healing rate was 92%. However, a two-plate construct with the plates at right angles is mechanically stiffer than a single-plate construct, which might be helpful if rigid stabilization of the humerus at the midshaft level is needed.
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BACKGROUND: Volar plate fixation with use of either a locking plate or a neutralization plate has become increasingly popular among surgeons for the treatment of dorsally comminuted extra-articular distal radial fractures. The purpose of the present study was to compare the relative stability of five distal radial plates (four volar and one dorsal), all of which are commonly used for the treatment of dorsally comminuted extra-articular distal radial fractures, under loading conditions simulating the physiologic forces that are experienced during early active rehabilitation. METHODS: With use of a previously validated Sawbones fracture model, a dorsally comminuted extra-articular distal radial fracture was created. The fracture fixation stability of four volar plates (an AO T-plate, an AO 3.5-mm small-fragment plate, an AO 3.5-mm small-fragment locking plate, and the Hand Innovations DVR locking plate) were compared under axial compression loading and dorsal and volar bending simulating the in vivo stresses that are generated at the fracture site during early unopposed active motion of the wrist and digits. A single dorsal plate (an AO pi plate) was used for comparison, with and without simulated volar cortical comminution. The construct stiffness was measured to assess the resistance to fracture gap motion, and comparisons were made among the implants. RESULTS: The volar AO locking and DVR plates had greater resistance to fracture gap motion (greater stiffness) compared with the volar AO nonlocking and AO T-plates under axial and dorsal loading conditions (p < 0.01), with no significant difference between the AO volar locking and DVR plates. The volar AO locking plate had greater resistance to fracture gap motion than did the volar AO nonlocking plate under axial loading and dorsal bending forces (p < 0.01). The dorsal pi plate had the greatest resistance to fracture gap motion under axial loading and volar and dorsal bending forces (p < 0.01). However, the pi plate was significantly less stable to axial load and dorsal bending forces when the volar cortex was comminuted (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: In this model of dorsally comminuted extra-articular distal radial fractures, dorsal pi-plate fixation demonstrated better resistance to fracture gap motion than did the four types of volar plate fixation. The AO volar locking and DVR plates conferred the greatest resistance to fracture gap motion among the four volar plates tested. Volar locking technology conferred a significant increase in resistance to fracture gap motion as compared with nonlocking plate technology.
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Osteosynthesis of displaced femoral neck fractures using von Bahr screws was performed in 50 patients. Immediate postoperative weight-bearing was allowed. After a follow-up period of 1 year a high incidence (20 per cent) of early failure (dislocation of the fractures with or withour screw movement) was found. Analysis of the material showed that the failure rate was influenced by the peroperative reposition of the fracture, especially the valgus/varus position of the caput fragment, and the position of the screws.
A series of 1,071 patients with unstable trochanteric fractures were treated by the McLaughlin or Jewett nail-plate, the sliding screw-plate or condylocephalic nailing according to Ender. Deep infection was encountered in 2.5% of the cases following surgery in the hip region and in 3.3% of the Ender nailings. Statistical analyses showed that the quality of the reduction was determined by the comminution of the fracture, and the technical failure of fixation or secondary displacement of the fracture was determined by the quality of the reduction. Sliding screw-plate fixation was found to be the only suitable fixation method for unstable trochanteric fractures, because of a low failure rate, a low re-operation rate and the possibility of secondary impaction without disturbing the fracture union.
In a prospective, randomized study of femoral neck fracture operations, a newly developed compression-screw device was compared with the McLaughlin nail-plate. One hundred and twenty-eight fractures were treated with the compression screw and 127 with a nail plate. The patients were followed up for 3 years. All undisplaced fractures healed in both groups. Eleven per cent of displaced Garden 3 and 4 fractures did not heal in the compression-screw group compared to 25 per cent in the nail-plate group. Late segmental collapse occurred in 15 per cent of the healed displaced fractures in the compression-screw group, compared to 21 per cent in the nail-plate group. Fixation of femoral neck fractures using the new compression-screw device gave fewer failures without concomitant disadvantages compared to nail plate fixation.