Tesiorowski M

Results of simple excision technique in the surgical treatment of symptomatic accessory navicular bones

INTRODUCTION Accessory navicular bones might cause not only cosmetic problems but also be a reason of discomfort and pain. In case of inefficient conservative treatment symptomatic accessory naviculars are treated surgically. AIM OF PAPER Presentation of results of simple excision of symptomatic accessory navicular. MATERIAL AND METHODS Material consists of 22 patients (34 feet), 17 women and 5 men, treated surgically between 1992 and 2006. Mean age at surgery was 14.1 years (9-22 years). Accessory navicular type I was present in 5 feet (14.7%), type II in 17 (50%) and type III-in 12 (35.3%). Main symptom was localized pain on the medial arch of the foot, in the height of navicular bone. Surgery consisted of simple accessory navicular excision and if needed partial resection of navicular bone. The mean follow-up period was 5.6 years (1-13 years). We analyzed: intensity of pain (VAS score system), daily and sport activity. Subjective results were analyzed using a questionnaire. RESULTS The questionnaire was returned from 21 patients: 9 patients had total pain relief, 11 considerable and one patient had persistent pain. Mean VAS results before surgery was 5.9 and 1.7 after surgery. Only one patient required analgesics occasionally. Complications were present in two patients (6.1%). All active patients returned to their sport activities. CONCLUSION Surgical treatment of symptomatic accessory navicular by simple excision technique gives satisfying results, surgery is minimally traumatic and risk of complications low.

Long-term results of lower limb lengthening by physeal distraction.

Of the many methods of limb elongation, lengthening by physeal distraction is among the newest. The goal of this study was to estimate the long-term results of femoral and tibial lengthening by epiphyseal distraction. The authors examined 40 patients who underwent 24 femoral and 16 tibial lengthenings. The average follow-up period was 9.6 years. An average of 4.6 cm of femoral lengthening and 4.7 cm of tibial lengthening was achieved. The femoral healing index was 38.1 days/cm and the tibial healing index was 35.7 days/cm. After lengthening the epiphyseal cartilage started to function in all patients, and premature growth cartilage fusion was not observed during follow-up. Complications occurred in eight patients during femoral lengthening and in four during tibial lengthening. The authors suggest that physeal distraction is a good method for moderate and simple limb lengthening. Particular care should be applied to knee joint function, especially during femoral lengthening.

Spine deformities in patients with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, type IV - late results of surgical treatment

BackgroundSpinal deformities in Ehlers-Danlos syndrome are usually progressive and may require operative treatment. There is limited number of studies describing late results of surgery in this disease.MethodsThis is a retrospective study of the records of 11 patients with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type IV, treated surgically between 1990 and 2007. All patients underwent surgical treatment for spinal deformity. Duration of operation, type of instrumentation, intraoperative blood loss, complications and number of additional surgeries were noted. Radiographic measurement was performed on standing AP and lateral radiographs acquired before surgery, just after and at final follow up.ResultsThe mean follow up period was 5.5 ± 2.9 years (range 1-10 years). The mean preoperative thoracic and lumbar curve were 109.5 ± 19.9° (range 83° - 142°) and 75.6 ± 26.7° (range 40° - 108°) respectively. Posterior spine fusion alone was performed on 6 patients and combined anterior and posterior fusion (one- or two stage) on 5 cases. Posterior segmental spinal instrumentation was applied with use of hooks, screws and wires. The mean postoperative thoracic and lumbar curve improved to 79.3 ± 16.1° (range 56° - 105°) and 58.5 ± 27.7° (range 10° - 95°) respectively, with a slight loss of correction during follow up. The average thoracic and lumbar correction was 26.4 ± 14.9% (range 5.3 - 50.4%) and 26.3 ± 21.2% (range 7.9 - 75%). Postoperatively, the mean kyphosis was 79.5 ± 40.3° (range 21° -170°), and lordosis was 50.8 ± 18.6° (range 20° -79°). Hyperkyphosis increased during follow up while lordosis remained stable. Mean Th12-L2 angle was -3.5 ±9.9° (range -19° - 15°) postoperatively and did not change significantly during follow up.ConclusionsHuge spinal deformities in patients with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome require complex and extensive surgery. There is a big risk of sagittal imbalance in this group.

Development of a method for the determination of titanium in tissue by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry for clinical analysis

A method was developed for the determination of low titanium concentrations in soft tissue. It is based on the microwave-assisted acid digestion of the samples and quantification of the element by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS). The heating program was optimized through pyrolysis and atomization curves. The optimal temperatures were 1300 °C and 2600 °C for pyrolysis and atomization, respectively. Three matrix modifiers in various combinations were investigated and a mixture of 20 μg NH4H2PO4 and 6 μg Mg(NO3)2 allowed the best sensitivity and signal profile to be obtained. Under optimum conditions, the detection and quantification limits were 0.82 μg L−1 (33.61 ng g−1 of tissue) and 2.50 μg L−1 (102.48 ng g−1 of tissue), respectively. The characteristic mass was 88 pg. The recovery of added titanium in tissue samples was from 77% to 117%. Titanium was detected in 9 clinical samples and 12 animal meat samples, and its content ranged from 0.11 to 0.80 μg g−1.

Comparison of Postoperative Period in Patients with Pectus Excavatum Treated with Nuss Technique and Ravitch Technique.

BACKGROUND Pectus excavatum (PE) is the most common defect of the chest wall. Surgery for PE can be performed with an open or endoscopic technique. The choice of the surgical approach influences the postoperative course. The aim of the paper is to analyze the postoperative period in two groups of patients treated for PE. Group 1 consisted of patients who underwent endoscopic surgery, and Group 2 was composed of patients who underwent open surgery. A secondary aim is to compare the surgical outcomes between the two groups. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study group consisted of 40 patients treated in a single centre that uses a uniform postoperative analgesic protocol. The duration of surgery, blood loss, duration of hospital stay, complications, pain intensity and consumption of opioid and non-opioid analgesics were analyzed. The mean duration of follow-up was 9 months (6 -25 months). RESULTS Age at surgery, weight and height did not differ between the groups. In Group 1 the duration of surgery and blood loss were lower than in Group 2. In Group 1 complications occurred in 25% of the patients. Pain intensity was higher in Group 1 (4.23 vs. 3.67), as was the consumption of strong opioids (0.52 mg/kg body weight vs. 0.25 mg/kg body weight). Subjective evaluation was satisfactory in 85% of the patients in Group 1 and 90% in Group 2. CONCLUSIONS 1. Both techniques led to a satisfactory outcome. 2. The duration of surgery and blood loss were higher in the open surgery group, but pain intensity and consumption of strong analgesics were higher among the patients treated with the endoscopic technique. 3. Preparation for surgery should involve planning appropriate analgesic treatment in the post-operative period.

Cervical spine surgery in patients with diastrophic dysplasia: Case report with long-term follow-up.

Cervical kyphosis in diastrophic dysplasia (DTD) is a very dangerous deformity which may lead to compression of neural structures resulting in tetraplegia or even. Treatment of this deformity is usually surgical, but no long-term follow-up studies are presented in the literature. Authors present a case of two children with DTD who underwent anterior corpectomy due to severe cervical kyphosis. The kyphotic deformity was corrected and the normal spinal canal width was restored. The effects of the correction remained stable for respectively 6 and 10 years of the follow-up period. The unique follow-up confirms that this type of intervention leads to an effective and long lasting results. Significant cervical kyphosis in patients suffering from DTD may be treated surgically using anterior approach even in young children with a favorable and lasting results.

Severe Thoraco-lumbar Kyphoscoliosis Associated with Osteoporosis in Siblings - Case study.

The incidence of scoliosis among patients with certain systemic diseases is much higher than in the general population. Moreover, the onset of the scoliosis is in early childhood before the age of 5 and the deformity reaches extreme values. We present the clinical course of two siblings with multiple musculoskeletal deformities, osteoporosis, severe kyphoscolisis and an undiagnosed systemic disease. The onset of scoliosis was in the first months of life of both children, with a marked progression about the 8th month of life. Due to lower limb deformities, ambulation was delayed until the 5th year of life in the male sibling, and the girl remains non-ambulant. Both children had osteoporosis, which caused numerous fractures of the upper and lower limbs. Due to progression of the spinal deformity the boy underwent a posterior hemispondylodesis with instrumentation at the age of 7. The girl also underwent surgery at the age of 7, but instrumentation could not be placed successfully due to inadequate bone quality. The last follow-up to date has been at the age of 12 years for the female patient and 20 years for the male patient. The spinal deformity in the female has not progressed during the last 2-3 years. She has been on bisphosphonate therapy for two years and no new fractures have been noted. The male patient has undergone multiple surgeries for lower limb deformities and is an independent walker. His scoliosis remains stable, but a minor progression of kyphosis has been noted in the last year. The history of the two patients shows that not all early-onset deformities can be effectively treated and that osteoporosis is a crucial obstacle to this treatment.

Anterior fixation of thoracolumbar traumatic spinal injuries.

BACKGROUND Traumatic spinal fractures require surgical treatment to restore the anatomical curvatures of the spine and release the nervous structures. However, uniform management guidelines have not been established and thus the literature includes papers focussing only on the posterior techniques as well as those assessing the anterior or anteroposterior approaches. This paper presents the outcomes of the treatment of spinal fractures with anterior and anteroposterior fixation. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study enrolled 48 patients. The age of the patients at the time of injury was 36.8 years on average and the mean follow-up period was 3.8 years. All the fractures were unstable and caused stenosis of the spinal canal lumen. We used anterior or combined anterior and posterior approaches with a titanium implant in all the cases. Radiological assessment involved determination of the monosegmental and bisegmental Cobb angle, and the neurological status was evaluated according to the Frankel classification. RESULTS The mean post-traumatic monosegmental angle was -17.1°, compared to -9.1° post-operatively and -9.2° at followup. The bisegmental angle was -12.7° at baseline, -7.9° post-operatively, and -8° in the follow-up period. Neurological assessment showed no neurological deficits in 27 patients while 2 persons had complete limb paralysis and the other 19 patients had various degrees of neurological deficits. The last follow-up examination did not show any improvement with respect to the neurological status of the patients with complete paralysis. However, an improvement of at least 1 Frankel group was noted in 15 patients with partial neurological deficits. CONCLUSIONS 1. The most common causes of traumatic spinal injuries are falls from a height and road accidents. 2. fractures occur most often at the thoracolumbar junction of the spine. 2. Anteroposterior fixation with release of the spinal canal and spinal fusion is a beneficial treatment method. 3. Apart from vertebral body mesh, treating lumbar spine fractures requires the additional use of vertebral body screws or transpedicular posterior fixation. 4. Anterior fixation ensures the restoration of the physiological curvatures of the spine and stabilizes the spine until a complete bone union is achieved, preventing the loss of correction during the follow-up period.