Ali Sabri Atesalp

Treatment of tibial bone defects with the Ilizarov circular external fixator in high-velocity gunshot wounds

Summary. One of the applications for circular external fixators is the treatment of large-bone defects which may be difficult to manage with conventional methods. Successful results have been reported with the use of circular external fixators, particularly in the treatment of infected tibial pseudoarthroses and those with bone loss. In this study, a total of 43 cases with tibial bone defects (18 infected) as a result of high-velocity gun-shot injuries were treated with circular external fixators between January 1, 1988 and December 31, 1995. The mean follow-up period was 50 months (range: 28–98 months) after the removal of the Ilizarov device. Satisfactory union was obtained in 40 cases without any major complication or additional surgical intervention, in spite of the large and in some cases infected defects. We conclude that this is a safe method for the treatment of infected or noninfected tibial bone defects.Résumé. Une des applications des fixateurs externes circulaires (FEC) est le traitement des pertes de substance osseuse qu’on ne peut pas traiter facilement avec les méthodes classiques. Des auteurs rapportent les résultats de traitement dans des cas de pseudarthrose infectée du tibia. Ils rapportent les résultats de 48 perte de substance du tibia secondaire à des blessures par arme à feu. 18 d’entre-eux étaient infectés. Le délai d’observation moyen était de 50 mois (28–98 mois) après ablation de l’appareil d’Ilizarov. Dans 40 cas, il n’y as pas eu de complication majeure ni de nécessité d’intervention chirurgicale complémentaire. En conclusion, c’est une bonne méthode pour traiter les pertes de substance osseuse du tibia infecté ou non.

Bilateral lower limb amputations as a result of landmine injuries

Landmine explosions cause most of the war injuries in the battlefield. Amputations resulting from severe injuries reveal serious problems despite the improvements in surgery. Bilateral lower limb amputations have more impact than unilateral on social life. Some 29 cases with lower limb amputations due to landmine injuries were treated in the Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Gülhane Military Medical Academy between January 1992 and December 1996. Amputation levels were as follows: 1 case had hip disarticulation and a trans-femoral amputation, 6 had bilateral trans-femoral amputations, 6 had trans-femoral and trans-tibial amputations, 12 had bilateral trans-tibial amputations, 1 had trans-femoral and Chopart amputations and the remaining 3 cases had trans-tibial and Chopart amputations. The initial treatment was done for all cases in the first 6–8 hours after injury at the field hospitals. Aggressive debridement, excision and primary closure were performed. None of the stumps required reamputations and/or revision. No case had gas gangrene or tetanus. Postoperative, pre-prosthetic training programme which ranged between 30–120 days with an average 48 days; and prosthesis fitting and adequate post-prosthetic training programme which ranged 32–126 (average 94) days was applied. All the cases were followed-up with a mean of 38.5 months (14–72 months). Nine (9) cases (31%) returned to their previous occupation, while 20 (69%) cases had to change their jobs.

Benign bone tumors in children.

When children present for evaluation of bone tumor, great anxiety often occurs among the family. Usually the diagnosis of a benign bone tumor can be made easily with plain radiographs without biopsy. Most have a good outcome. However, occasionally, serious complications can develop. Moreover, the physician must be aware of the possibility of the malignant tumors. To avoid errors in the evaluation and treatment of this heterogeneous group of tumors, the clinician should have a good knowledge base of common bone neoplasms and correlate the clinical, radiographic, and pathologic findings. In this article, history, diagnosis, evaluation, treatment, and management of common types of benign tumors of bone commonly seen in children and adolescents are reviewed in the light of current literature.

First ray reconstruction with distraction osteogenesis

Disarticulation of the thumb at the metacarpophalangeal joint level is not beneficial either aesthetically or functionally without additional surgery because it requires a bulky and an unacceptable prosthesis to be made for this amputation level. In this study, the authors have presented our experience of 12 metacarpal distractions in thumb amputated patients. Twelve male patients who had thumb amputation due to gunshot wounds were included in the study. Before the operation, aesthetic hand prostheses were made for 5 of the12 patients. Callus distraction was performed with the use of a mini Ilizarov type external fixator in 7 cases and uniplanar dynamic mini external fixator in 5 cases too. External fixators were removed after the completion of the radiographic consolidation. Five patients whose prosthesis had been made before the operation wore their prosthesis for an average 6.8 months (5 – 14) due to poor appearance and poor construction. Union of the lengthened segment was observed in all cases. Average lengthening was 28.9 mm (range from 25 – 37). Average healing time was 2.1 months (range from 1.8 – 2.5). Average healing index was 0.73 month/cm (range from 0.65 – 0.88). Pin tract infection was seen in 7 cases (58.3%). Volar angulation developed after removing the external fixator in 1 case. Webplasty was performed in all cases. Patients were evaluated by means of Disability of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) score and pick-up test. It was concluded that the metacarpus lengthening by callus distraction technique may be a functionally and cosmetically effective reconstruction method for traumatic thumb amputations. It is believed that the possibility for a functionally and aesthetically acceptable fabrication of a thumb prosthesis, by providing a suction suspension with distraction and/or webplasty procedures.

Anterosuperior calcaneal process fracture or OS calcaneus secundarius

A 36-yr-old woman was admitted to our emergency department after having sustained an inversion injury of her right ankle. On physical examination, there was diffuse swelling and ecchymosis on the dorsolateral aspect of her foot. The ankle joint movements were in normal range without laxity. The anteroposterior and lateral x-rays of the right foot were considered to be normal by the emergency physician. The patient was diagnosed with simple ankle sprain and was treated accordingly with classical RICE protocol and a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug. Four weeks after the initial trauma, the patient presented to our orthopedic outpatient clinic with persistent complaint of right foot pain on weight bearing. On physical examination, severe pain on the dorsal part of the calcaneocuboid joint was present. The initial anteroposterior and lateral x-rays were reevaluated, and a fracture was suspected at the anterior calcaneal process (Fig. 1A). Medial oblique foot x-ray revealed a bony fragment located between the anterosuperior calcaneal process and the cuboid (Fig. 1B). In the differential diagnosis, anterosuperior calcaneal process fracture and OS calcaneus secundarius were considered. Further computed tomography imaging delineated the anatomy of the fragment better, while the ovoid shape, well corticated margins, regular interface, and blunt edges of the fragment supported the diagnosis of OS calcaneus secundarius, wide proximal base and considerably large size favored the anterosuperior calcaneal process fracture. Magnetic resonance imaging was eventually performed and, with the presence of bone marrow edema adjacent to the fracture line, an anterosuperior calcaneal process fracture rather than an OS calcaneus secundarius was confirmed at diagnosis (Fig. 2). She was treated with a medial longitudinal arc support, and after 1 mo, she was free of pain during mobilization. OS calcaneus secundarius and anterosuperior calcaneal process fractures are two similar clinical syndromes, both of which present with anterior ankle pain. The differentiation of these two entities may be quite challenging only with physical examination or classical x-rays. Herewith, we imply that the distinction may be possible when oblique x-rays or, even better, magnetic resonance imaging is performed. This is important because the treatment of each syndrome is different.

Removal of a bent inflatable femoral nail: a case report

Intramedullary nailing is the gold standard for the treatment of diaphyseal femoral fractures. Bending of the nail secondary to trauma is a rare complication encountered in unhealed and comminuted fractures. A 23-year-old man was admitted with refracture of the right femoral shaft and a 32-degree bending of an inflatable intramedullary nail due to a fall, two months after the initial surgical treatment. The nail was first straightened by exerting an external force, which decreased the angulation to 10 degrees. Then, the fracture site was opened, the lateral wall of the nail was drilled, and one of the four metal bars of the nail was cut. This allowed complete straightening of the nail by the same maneuver and its removal. A new inflatable intramedullary nail was placed and union was achieved after four months. Tools that may be necessary to cut the nail partially or totally should be made available for removal of bent nails.

A novel technique for transtibial amputation in chronic occlusive arterial disease: Modified Burgess procedure.

The aim of this study was to compare results of transtibial amputations performed using the Burgess or Modified Burgess techniques with those performed using the Bruckner technique. Transtibial amputation (TTA) was performed in 117 patients with Fontaine phase IV chronic arterial occlusion. Fifty-six patients with a mean age of 51.4 years were amputated by the Burgess technique between March 2000 and January 2003; and 61 patients with a mean age of 47.8 years were amputated by Modified Burgess technique between February 2003 and March 2006. In the Burgess technique, all muscles in the amputation region were preserved and the stump was closed by a long posterior flap; whereas the entire tibialis anterior muscle and part of the soleus muscle distal to the amputation level were removed in the modified Burgess procedure. Stump revision was performed in nine cases (17.3%) amputated by the Burgess technique due to necrosis at the incision site and drainage caused by the peroneal and tibialis anterior muscles; however, two cases (3.6%) of the modified Burgess procedure required stump revision. The prosthesis caused skin maceration at the lateral side of the stump in five cases (9.6%) operated with the Burgess technique and in eight cases (14.5%) operated with the modified Burgess procedure. After the rehabilitation period, 43 patients (82.6%) in the Burgess group were mobilized without crutches in an average of 162.5 days; on the other hand 51 patients (% 92.7) in the modified Burgess group were similarly mobilized in an average of 101.5 days. Our retrospective study showed that the modified Burgess technique, with its advantages and disadvantages forms an alternative to the Burgess and Brückner techniques regarding TTAs.

Posterior tibial tendon transfer and tendo-achilles lengthening for equinovarus foot deformity due to severe crush injury

Surgical correction was performed on nine patients who had equinovarus deformity caused by severe crush injury of the leg sustained in an earthquake. The operative procedure used involved the transfer of the posterior tibial tendon to the dorsum of the foot by passing it through the interosseous membrane using a modified procedure as published in 1978. 5 This procedure was combined with percutaneous Achilles tendon lengthening and tenotomy of toe flexors when needed. The average follow-up time after the operation was 21 months. The treatment improved the heel-toe steppage gait in all patients and all were able to walk in standard shoes. There were no complications in the postoperative period. Recurrence of varus deformity was not seen in any of the patients. They had active dorsiflexion of the foot, with a median active dorsiflexion of 5° (0 to 10°) and median active plantarflexion of 16.1° (10 to 25°) compared to the median active dorsiflexion and plantarflexion on the uninvolved side. The total range-of-motion was 21.1° (10 to 35°).

Results of supracondylar osseous shortening in knee disarticulation.

A twenty-eight-year-old patient who had a knee disarticulation and used a prosthesis that could bear weight through the stump end is presented. He had cosmetic and soft tissue problems in the stump end. To solve these problems, a 7cm supracondylar shortening osteotomy was performed. The functional and cosmetic results that were obtained from the prosthesis for trans-femoral amputations but which can bear weight through the stump end, fitted 1.5 months after the surgical operation, were evaluated as very good at the end of the 26 months follow-up period.