Application of Nice knot technique in wound closure of Gustilo type ⅢA and ⅢB open tibial fractures / 中国修复重建外科杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the effectiveness of Nice knot technique for wound closure in Gustilo type ⅢA and ⅢB open tibial fractures.@*METHODS@#A retrospective study was performed on 22 patients with Gustilo type ⅢA and ⅢB open tibial fractures, who underwent wound closure using the Nice knot technique and were admitted between June 2021 and June 2022. There were 15 males and 7 females. The age ranged from 18 to 67 years, with an average of 41.9 years. The causes of injury included traffic accident in 11 cases, falling from height in 7 cases, and heavy object injuries in 4 cases. Fractures were located on the left side in 9 cases and on the right side in 13 cases. And 9 cases were type ⅢA fractures and 13 were type ⅢB fractures according to Gustilo classification. All patients had extensive soft tissue injuries, and no vascular or neurological damage was observed. The time from injury to debridement was 3-8 hours (mean, 6.5 hours). The sizes of wounds before operation and at 2 weeks after operation were measured and wound healing rate at 2 weeks after operation were calculated. The wound healing time and wound healing grading were recorded. The Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS) score was used to assess the wound scar after wound healed and the excellent and good rate was calculated.@*RESULTS@#The wound area was 21.0-180.0 cm 2 (mean, 57.82 cm 2) before operation, and it was 1.2-27.0 cm 2 (mean, 6.57 cm 2) at 2 weeks after operation. The wound healing rate at 2 weeks after operation was 76%-98% (mean, 88.6%). After operation, 2 cases needed to adjust Nice knot due to skin cutting and 1 case occurred soft tissue infection on the wound. The other patient's wounds healed. The average wound healing time was 27.8 days (range, 18-44 days). And the wound healing were grade A in 13 cases and grade B in 9 cases. VSS score was 2-9, with an average of 4.1; 10 cases were rated as excellent, 10 as good, and 2 as poor, with an excellent and good rate of 90.9%. All patients were followed up 9-24 months (mean, 14.6 months). During follow-up, no deep infection or osteomyelitis occurred. Two cases experienced fracture non-union, and were treated with compression fixation and bone grafting. The fractures of the other patients all healed, with a healing time of 85-190 days (mean, 148.2 days).@*CONCLUSION@#Nice knot technique can be used in wound closure of Gustilo type ⅢA and ⅢB open tibial fractures effectively, which is easy to operate.

Effectiveness of suture anchor fixation combined with Nice knot strapping via longitudinal patellar drilling in treatment of patellar inferior pole fracture / 中国修复重建外科杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate effectiveness of suture anchor fixation combined with Nice knot strapping via longitudinal patellar drilling in the treatment of patellar inferior pole fractures.@*METHODS@#A clinical data of 37 patients with unilateral patellar inferior pole fracture who met the selection criteria between June 2017 and June 2021 was retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 17 cases were treated with the suture anchor fixation combined with Nice knot strapping via longitudinal patellar drilling (group A), and 20 cases were treated with the traditional Kirschner wire tension band technique (group B). There was no significant difference in terms of gender, age, body mass index, fracture side, combined medical disease, and preoperative hemoglobin between the two groups ( P>0.05). Operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative complications, fracture healing time, knee range of motion, and knee function Bostman score (range of motion, pain, daily work, muscle atrophy, walking aids, knee effusion, soft leg, and stair climbing) and grading were recorded in both groups at last follow-up.@*RESULTS@#There was no significant difference in operation time and intraoperative blood loss between the two groups ( P>0.05). All incisions healed by first intention. All patients were followed up 1-2 years, with an average of 1.7 years. X-ray films reexamination showed that all fractures in group A healed, while 2 cases in group B did not heal. There was no significant difference in bone healing time between the two groups ( P>0.05). At last follow-up, the knee range of motion, the range of motion score of Bostman score, total score and effectiveness grading in group A were significantly better than those in group B ( P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the other items of Bostman scores between the two groups ( P>0.05). During follow-up, 2 cases of internal fixation failure and 1 case of internal fixator irritation occurred in group B, and no complication related to internal fixation occurred in group A. The occurrence of complications was significantly lower in group A than in group B ( P<0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#Compared with the traditional Kirschner wire tension band technique, the suture anchor combined with Nice knot strapping via longitudinal patellar drilling for the patellar inferior pole fractures has the advantages of simple operation, reliable fixation, early flexion and extension activity, and better functional recovery of knee joint.

Curative effects of Nice knot fixation on tuberosity healing in hemiarthroplasty for complex proximal humeral fractures / 中华创伤骨科杂志

Objective:To explore the curative effects of Nice knot fixation on tuberosity healing in hemiarthroplasty for complex proximal humeral fractures.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted of the eligible 32 complex proximal humeral fractures which had been treated at Department of Trauma and Orthopedics, Peking University People's Hospital between May 1, 2016 and May 1, 2019. Nice knot fixation was used to repair greater and lesser tuberosities in hemiarthroplasty for all the patients. There were 6 males and 26 females, aged from 60 to 90 years (mean, 74.9 years). By the Neer classification, there were 4 three-part fractures combined with dislocation, 20 four-part fractures, and 8 four-part fractures combined with dislocation. Shoulder joint X-rays were taken at postoperative 1, 2, 3, 6, and 12 months at the outpatient clinic to evaluate the patients' shoulder joint mobility, visual analog scale (VAS) pain score and Constant-Murley shoulder score. Tuberosity healing was assessed based on the X-rays and related complications were recorded.Results:The 32 patients received complete follow-up for 12 to 25 months (average, 17.82 months). At the 12-month follow-up, their shoulder flexion averaged 131.3° (from 80° to 155°), abduction 126.9° (from 80° to 155°), external rotation 48.4° (from 30° to 60°), internal rotation the L2 level, VAS pain score 0.9 (from 0 to 5), and Constant-Murley score 83.4 (from 58 to 96). The rate of patient satisfaction was 87.5%(28/32). Tuberosity-related complications were observed in 6 cases with an incidence of 18.8%. Complications like infection and prosthetic loosening were found in none of the patients.Conclusion:In hemiarthroplasty for complex proximal humeral fractures, application of Nice knot to fixate greater and lesser tuberosities can lead to rigid fixation, definite curative effects and a low incidence of tuberosity-related complications.

Effectiveness of Nice knot combined with elastic intramedullary nailing fixation in treatment of Robinson type 2B midshaft clavicular fracture in adults / 中国修复重建外科杂志

Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of Nice knot combined with elastic intramedullary nailing fixation in treatment of Robinson type 2B midshaft clavicular fracture in adults. Methods: Between March 2016 and January 2018, 20 patients with Robinson type 2B midshaft clavicular fractures were treated with reduction and internal fixation by Nice knot and elastic intramedullary nailing. There were 13 cases and 7 cases, with an average age of 43 years (range, 18-56 years). The causes of injury included the traffic accident in 6 cases, falling in 12 cases, and falling from height in 2 cases. The interval between injury and admission ranged from 1 hour to 2 days (mean, 3.2 hours). The fractures were classified as Robinson type 2B1 in 16 cases and type 2B2 in 4 cases. The length of incision, the operation time, the visual analogue scale (VAS) score on the 2nd day after operation, the fracture healing time, the postoperative shoulder function and the Disability of Arm Shoulder and Hand (DASH) score, the complications, and the time of second surgical removal of internal fixator and incision length were recorded. Results: The length of incision was 2-6 cm (mean, 4.7cm). The operation time was 45-120 minutes (mean, 77.2 minutes). The VAS score was 1-5 (mean, 3.2) on the 2nd day after operation. All incisions healed by first intention and no infection or nerve injury occurred. All patients were followed up 12-32 months (mean, 18.6 months). All fractures healed with the healing time of 10-15 weeks (mean, 12.1 weeks). The Constant score was 92-98 (mean, 96.3) and DASH score was 0-6.4 (mean, 3.1). The elastic intramedullary nailing bending and hypertrophic nonunion occurred in 1 case and the skin stimulated by elastic nail tail in 1 case after operation. The internal fixators were removed at 12-26 months (mean, 14.6 months) after operation. And the length of incision was 1-2 cm (mean, 1.3 cm) and the operation time was 5-15 minutes (mean, 9.0 minutes). Conclusion: For the midshaft clavicular fracture in adults, the procedure of the Nice knot combined with elastic intramedullary nail has advantages of small incision, light pain, rapid fracture healing, small secondary operation injury, and avoiding the risk of clavicular epithelial nerve injury, and can obtain good effectiveness.