Metin Ozalay

Accuracy and Outcome of Sonographically Guided Intra-articular Sodium Hyaluronate Injections in Patients With Osteoarthritis of the Hip

The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy and outcome of sonographically guided intra‐articular sodium hyaluronate injections in patients with osteoarthritis of the hip.

Remote cerebellar hemorrhage after a spinal surgery complicated by dural tear: case report and literature review.

OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE: This report presents a case in which cerebellar hemorrhage occurred after lumbar decompression surgery that was complicated by dural tear and prolonged cerebrospinal fluid leakage. Remote cerebellar hemorrhage after spinal surgery is extremely rare. Our objective is to describe this unusual complication, discuss the possible mechanisms of remote cerebellar hemorrhage, and review the literature. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: A 73-year-old woman underwent surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis. A dural tear occurred during decompression, and the patient developed remote cerebellar hemorrhage on postoperative Day 2. INTERVENTION: The cerebellar hemorrhage was treated surgically, and a biopsy of hemorrhagic brain parenchyma revealed an arteriovenous malformation. CONCLUSION: Although it is an extremely rare complication, remote cerebellar hemorrhage should be kept in mind as a possible complication of spinal surgery, especially in operations complicated by dural tears.

Necrotizing Soft-Tissue Infection of a Limb: Clinical Presentation and Factors Related to Mortality

Background: Necrotizing fasciitis is a rare and often fatal soft-tissue infection. Prompt diagnosis and immediate aggressive surgical debridement of all compromised tissues are critical to reducing morbidity and mortality in these rapidly progressive infections. The purpose of this study was to analyze the clinical presentation and evaluate factors that determine mortality associated with this uncommon surgical emergency. Methods: The study retrospectively investigated the medical records of 22 patients who were diagnosed and treated for necrotizing fasciitis of the lower extremity, 14 of whom had involvement of the foot (nine patients) or foot and ankle (five patients) at our hospital. The data collected for each of the 22 patients were age, sex, underlying systemic factors, location of infection, duration of symptoms, portal of entry of infection, initial diagnosis on admission, physical, radiographic and laboratory findings, microbiological cultures, the type of therapy used (debridement or amputation), treatment outcome, and number of days in the hospital. Results: A total of 23 extremities of 22 consecutive patients with necrotizing fasciitis who underwent surgical debridement or amputation were retrospectively reviewed. Radical surgical debridement was done in 16 extremities initially, and this treatment was repeated a mean of two times (range one to four debridements) to completely remove all the necrotic tissue. Nine patients (41%) required below-knee or above-knee amputation. There were three deaths, one related directly to sepsis and organ failure, one due to gastrointestinal hemorrhage, and one caused by pulmonary embolism. There were no significant differences between patients who had the amputations and those who did not with respect to mortality rate or age (p = 0.538 and p = 0.493, respectively). Those who died were significantly older than the survivors (p = 0.038). Conclusions: The diagnosis of necrotizing fasciitis should be considered for any individual who has unexplained limb pain, especially if that person has diabetes mellitus or chronic liver disease. There was no difference in mortality rates between patients with or without amputation. The primary treatment is early and aggressive debridement of involved skin, subcutaneous fat, and fascia.

Tunnel enlargement after arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: Comparison of bone-patellar tendon-bone and hamstring autografts

Bone tunnel enlargement associated with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction has recently become a topic of interest in the literature. This association was examined, along with the effect of femoral and tibial tunnel enlargement on the clinical results of ACL reconstruction performed with either bone-patellar tendon-bone (BPTB) or hamstring (HST) autografts. Forty-six patients underwent arthroscopic ACL reconstruction (23 receiving BPTB autograft and 23 HST) between March 1999 and July 2001. Thirty patients (13 receiving BPTB autograft and 17 HST) completed the last clinical and radiologic evaluations and were included in the study. The mean age of patients in the HST group was 29.8 years (range 18–39) and that in the BPTB group was 27.6 years (range 20–37). The mean follow-up period was 24.6 months (range 12–36) in HST group and 18.5 months (range 12–40) in BPTB group. The effect of tunnel enlargement on the clinical results was evaluated by comparing preoperative and postoperative Lysholm, Tegner, and International Knee Documentation Committee scores and ligament laxity measurements between and within the groups. Postoperative femoral and tibial tunnel diameters in both groups were significantly larger than their corresponding preoperative tunnel diameters. In an intergroup evaluation, the enlargement of the tibial tunnel was similar in both groups (P=.556), but the femoral tunnel diameter was significantly larger in the HST group than in the BPTB group (P>.001). Preoperative laxity of the knees significantly improved after the operations in both groups, but no difference between the groups was evident at the final follow-up visit. No correlation between tunnel widening and the clinical results of the BPTB and HST procedures was observed.

Synovial cysts of proximal tibiofibular joint causing peroneal nerve palsy: report of three cases and review of the literature

IntroductionSynovial cyst of the proximal tibiofibular joint is a very rare condition, for which there is no consensus regarding treatment. Case presentationWe present three patients who had synovial cysts of proximal tibiofibular joint that caused peroneal nerve palsy. We discuss the special features of synovial cysts and review the literature. ConclusionWe consider the best treatment of synovial cysts originating from proximal tibiofibular joint and causing peroneal nerve palsy to be total surgical removal as soon as possible after the diagnosis is made. It should be kept in mind that despite surgical treatment the neurological symptoms may not recover.

Avascular necrosis and nonunion after osteosynthesis of femoral neck fractures: effect of fracture displacement and time to surgery.

This study assessed the effect of fracture displacement and elapsed time before surgery on the development of avascular necrosis and nonunion after internal fixation of femoral neck fractures. Twenty-eight patients with 30 femoral neck fractures who underwent internal fixation and completed a minimum of 2 years’ follow-up were retrospectively analyzed. The rates of avascular necrosis and nonunion were 12.5% and 25%, respectively, among patients who underwent surgery before 12 hours had elapsed and 14% and 27% among those who underwent surgery after that time. The rates of avascular necrosis and nonunion associated with fracture displacement were 6% and 18%, respectively, among patients with undisplaced (Garden stages 1 and 2) fractures and 23% and 38% among those with displaced (Garden stages 3 and 4) fractures. Nonunion and avascular necrosis led to the necessity for additional surgery in 11 of 30 (36%) hips. Internal fixation of femoral neck fractures is associated with a high initial complication rate, but if successful, the procedure ensures an excellent long-term outcome. Internal fixation should be considered the treatment of choice in young patients with nondisplaced fractures.

Analysis of outcomes for surgically treated hip fractures in patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis.

BACKGROUND Hip fractures in patients with end-stage renal disease are associated with frequent complications. This study analyzed clinical outcomes for patients on chronic hemodialysis who sustained hip fractures and were treated with a variety of fracture repair methods. METHODS Twenty-nine patients with thirty-two hip fractures were analyzed in three groups. Group 1 consisted of eleven hips in eleven patients with an intertrochanteric fracture that was treated with internal fixation; Group 2, thirteen hips in ten patients with a femoral neck fracture that was treated with screw fixation; and Group 3, eight hips in eight patients with a femoral neck fracture that was treated with hemiarthroplasty. The outcomes and early and late complications were recorded for each group. Survivorship analysis was performed, and the mortality and complication rates for the groups were compared. RESULTS In Group 1, eight complications occurred in six hips and nonunion developed in five hips. In Group 2, sixteen complications developed in eleven hips. Union was achieved in two of the thirteen hips, nine hips had nonunion, and two hips had osteonecrosis develop. In Group 3, only one hip had early complications, there were no late complications, and three patients died. The mean duration of follow-up was twenty-three months, and the overall mortality rate was 45%. There were no significant differences among the groups with respect to the cumulative survival proportions. Regression analysis of age, sex, and total hemodialysis duration in relation to mortality risk revealed that only age had a significant influence on mortality (p = 0.019). CONCLUSIONS Surgical treatment of hip fractures in patients with end-stage renal disease who are on chronic hemodialysis is associated with frequent complications and a high mortality rate. Osteosynthesis is an acceptable option for treating intertrochanteric fractures and nondisplaced femoral neck fractures, but displaced femoral neck fractures should be treated with hemiarthroplasty.

Clinical and isokinetic comparison between tenotomy and tenodesis in biceps pathologies

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study to compare clinical and isokinetic results of patients who underwent biceps tenotomy or tenodesis for chronic tenosynovitis. METHODS Arthroscopic biceps tenotomy, arthroscopy assisted or arthroscopic biceps tenodesis were done in 20 patients who had diagnosis of chronic tenosynovitis and in whom conservative treatment was not helpful. Rotator cuff repair and acromioplasty was performed in 18 patients and acromioplasty alone in two patients in addition to biceps surgery. Arthroscopic biceps tenotomy was done in 10 patients (5 female, 5 male; mean age 63, range 53-75), 10 patients underwent tenodesis out of which arthroscopy assisted biceps tenodesis was done in 8 patients and all arthroscopic biceps tenodesis was done in 2 patients (4 female, 6 male; mean age 57, range 49-66). All patients were evaluated with Constant and UCLA scores preoperatively and postoperatively. The average follow-up of the patients 3,1 years (between 1-8 years). Isokinetically elbow flexion and forearm supination were compared using the Cybex (Biodex 3, Cybex Biomedical System, NY, USA) machine. Pre-operative results of each group were compared with the postoperative results, using Mann-Whitney U test. RESULTS Preoperative average constant scores of tenotomy group were 64.40, whereas postoperative scores were 89.50 (p=0.002), and preoperative average constant scores of tenodesis group were 62.80, whereas postoperative scores were 86.70 (p=0.003). Preoperative average UCLA scores of tenotomy group were 23.20 whereas postoperative UCLA scores 22.60 (p=0.003), preoperative average UCLA scores of tenodesis group were 30.00 whereas postoperative UCLA scores was 29.20 (p=0.004). In both groups statistically significant improvement of UCLA and Constant scores was detected. Comparison between Constant, UCLA scores and isokinetic measurements of both groups showed no statistically significant difference (p>0.05). No complication was noted. CONCLUSION In the treatment of chronic tenosynovitis, biceps tenodesis and tenotomy of long head of biceps showed similar clinical, functional, isokinetic and cosmetic results. No Popeye deformity was seen in the tenotomy group.

Hallucal sesamoid osteonecrosis: an overlooked cause of forefoot pain.

Four cases of osteonecrosis of hallucal sesamoids are reported here. Surgical excision of necrotic sesamoid tissue yielded satisfactory results, with the patients reporting no residual pain. Although it has not been frequently addressed in the literature, avascular necrosis of the sesamoid bones should be considered in the differential diagnosis of persistent forefoot pain.

Prospective evaluation of the functional and anatomical results of arthroscopic repair in small and medium-sized full-thickness tears of the supraspinatus tendon.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to analyze the relation between tendon integrity and functional results following the arthroscopic treatment of small- and medium-sized rotator cuff tears. METHODS Arthroscopic repair was performed on 26 consecutive patients (21 women, 5 men;mean age: 55.9 years; range: 33-72 years) with small- and medium-sized tears of the supraspinatus tendon. Patients were postoperatively evaluated at 12 and 24 months using the Constant and UCLA functional outcome scores and ultrasound examinations. RESULTS The supraspinatus tendon did not heal in nine patients (34.6%) and was partially healed in three (11%), 12 months after surgery. Mean postoperative Constant and UCLA scores of these patients were 73.1 and 27.8, respectively, which were not significantly different from those with an intact tendon on the final follow-up (Constant: 78 and UCLA: 30; p=0.107 and p=0.164). Both rating systems reflected significant improvement with treatment (p<0.01). The mean age of patients with a re-tear was 66.8 years, which was significantly higher than those with an intact repair (54 years; p<0.01). CONCLUSION The arthroscopic repair of small and medium-sized supraspinatus tendon tears yields good long-term results independent of tendon integrity. Healing potential may be decreased with increased age.