Research and application of absorbable screw in orthopedics: a clinical review comparing PDLLA screw with metal screw in patients with simple medial malleolus fracture / 中华创伤杂志(英文版)

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the therapeutic effect of absorbable screw in medial malleolus fracture and discuss its clinical application in orthopedics.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 129 patients with simple medial malleolus fracture were studied. Among them, 64 patients were treated with poly-D, L-lactic acid (PDLLA) absorbable screws, while the others were treated with metal screws. All the patients were followed up for 12-20 months (averaged 18.4 months) and the therapeutic effect was evaluated according to the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society clinical rating systems.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In absorbable screw group, we obtained excellent and good results in 62 cases (96.88%); in steel screw group, 61 cases (93.85%) achieved excellent and good results. There was no significant difference between the two groups.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>In the treatment of malleolus fracture, absorbable screw can achieve the same result compared with metal screw fixation. Absorbable screw is preferred due to its advantages of safety, cleanliness and avoiding the removal procedure associated with metallic implants.</p>

Clinical efficacy of artificial skin combined with vacuum sealing drainage in treating large-area skin defects / 中华创伤杂志(英文版)

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the clinical efficacy of artificial skin combined with vacuum sealing drainage (VSD) in treating large-area skin defects.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Totally 18 patients with skin defects, treated with artificial skin combined with VSD from September 2008 to May 2009 in our hospital, were retrospectively analyzed in this study. There were 15 males and 3 females, aged 7-66 years, 34.3 years on average. Among them, 10 cases had skin laceration caused by traffic accidents (7 with open fractures), 1 mangled injury, 1 blast injury, 1 stump infection combined with skin defects after amputation and 5 heel ulcers.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>All skin grafts in 16 cases survived after being controlled by VSD for one time. For the rest 2 patients, one with skin avulsion on the left foot was given median thickness skin grafts after three times of VSD, the other with open fractures in the left tibia and fibula caused by a traffic accident was given free flap transplantation. Skin grafts of both patients survived, with normal color and rich blood supply.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Skin grafting in conjunction with artificial skin and VSD is much more effective than traditional dressing treatment and worth wide application in clinic.</p>