Ultrasound-guided multiple peripheral nerve blocks, a way out for anesthesia in morbidly obese patients for bone marrow aspiration / Múltiplos bloqueios de nervos periféricos guiados por ultrassom, uma saída para anestesia em pacientes com obesidade mórbida para aspiração de medula óssea

Abstract Morbid obesity is associated with various pathophysiological changes which affect the outcome of anaesthesia and surgery. So it's challenging to give anaesthesia to such patients. We present a 59-year-old adult morbidly obese, hypertensive, diabetic female with hypothyroidism operated for proximal humerus fracture and now presented with non-union of fracture, requiring percutaneous injection of bone marrow aspirate from the iliac crest to the site of non-union. The patient was extremely anxious and refused to undergo the procedure under local anaesthesia or sedation and demanded anaesthesia. Given her comorbidities general anaesthesia (GA) was avoided and the procedure was accomplished using Ultrasound (USG) guided Transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block and Lateral Femoral Cutaneous Nerve (LFCN) block for the bone marrow aspirate from the iliac crest and Intercostobrachial nerve block (T2) was given to prevent pain while injecting the aspirate into the non-union site. Dexmedetomidine and ketamine were given for deep level sedation and analgesia. TAP block and LFCN block is generally used for post-op analgesia but can be also used for surgical anaesthesia instead of General anaesthesia in specific scenarios. Its perioperative application and its potential use instead of GA have been discussed.

Resumo A obesidade mórbida se associa a várias alterações fisiopatológicas que afetam o desfecho da anestesia e cirurgia. É, portanto, um desafio anestesiar tais pacientes. Apresentamos uma mulher adulta de 59 anos, obesa mórbida, hipertensa, diabética, com hipotiroidismo, submetida a cirurgia devido a fratura proximal do úmero e que compareceu ao serviço com fratura não consolidada, e com indicação de injeção percutânea de aspirado de medula óssea da crista ilíaca na fratura não consolidada. A paciente estava extremamente ansiosa e recusou o procedimento sob anestesia local ou sedação e exigiu anestesia. Em função de suas comorbidades, Anestesia Geral (AG) foi evitada e o procedimento foi realizado usando bloqueio do Plano Transverso Abdominal (PTA) guiado por Ultrassonografia (USG) e bloqueio do Nervo Cutâneo Femoral Lateral (NCFL) para aspiração de medula óssea da crista ilíaca. O bloqueio do nervo Intercostobraqueal (T2) foi realizado para evitar dor durante a injeção do aspirado. Dexmedetomidina e ketamina foram dadas para sedação profunda e analgesia. O Bloqueio PTA e bloqueio NCFL geralmente são usados para analgesia pós-operatória, mas também podem ser usados para anestesia cirúrgica substituindo a anestesia geral em condições clínicas específicas. O emprego desses bloqueios no perioperatório e seu uso potencial no lugar de AG têm sido discutidos.

Management of Infected Non-Union by Implant Retainment and Papineau Open Bone Grafting – Report of Two Cases.

Introduction : Infection following implant surgery in orthopaedics is a disaster both for surgeon and patient. Management of infected non-union is a most challenging task an orthopaedic surgeon can ever face. Infection following implant surgery not only leads to repeated surgeries, long term antibiotic use, stiffness of neighbouring joints and long term hospital stay but also effects patients economic, social, psychological status. Cases : Here we present report of 2 cases infected non-union ulna which was managed by stabilisation of non-union site by altering position of existing plate followed by period of open dressing till healthy granulation tissue appears. Later open bone grafting procedure done. Both patients were followed up for 15 months. Results : At the end of 4 months both patients achieved bony union without recurrence of infection. So, we conclude management of infected nonunions by altering plate position and by following papineau method of open bone grafting leads to satisfactory results. Conclusion : This technique is simple, effective and done with minimal expenditure and could be best procedure of choice in patients where cost benefit analysis appears critical.

Operations about Hip in Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Positive Patients

BACKGROUND: The number of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients is increasing constantly, and it is well known that there is a significantly high prevalence of osteonecrosis of the femoral head in HIV-infected patients. Therefore, it is important to develop methods that can ensure the safety of both the patients and medical personnel who participate in surgery on HIV-infected patients. Recently, the authors performed 8 procedures on 5 HIV-infected patients. This paper reports our experience. METHODS: This study examined the medical records and radiological studies of 5 HIV-infected patients who had undergone surgery around the hip joint from January, 2005 to September, 2007. During the procedures, their mean age was 38.6 years (range, 23 to 53 years) and all were male. Four of them were under an anti-retroviral therapy program. The reasons for the operations were nonunion of the femoral shaft after trauma in two patients and osteonecrosis of both femoral heads in three. One autologous bone grafting, one screw fixation with autologous bone grafting, five total hip replacement arthroplasties, and one multiple drilling were performed. All procedures were carried out according to the guidelines of HIV infection control made by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The mean follow-up period was 16.6 months (range, 4 to 37 months). RESULTS: The preoperative CD4 count was 130 in one patient, and 200 to 499 in the other 4. The viral loads were 15100 and 420 in two patients, and negative in the other 3. Bony union was achieved in those who had undergone autologous bone grafting. There were significant improvements in both the Harris Hip Score and functional state in those who had total hip replacement arthroplasty. There were no immediate postoperative complications, such as infection. During the follow-up period, one patient died from esophageal variceal bleeding. However, no surgery-related complications were observed in the other 4 patients. CONCLUSIONS: There were no significant complications in HIV-infected patients after the operations around the hip joint when their preoperative immunity was optimal. In addition, the safety of medical personnel can be assured when the operation is performed in line with the guidelines of HIV infection control.

Modelo experimental em ratos para o desenvolvimento de pseudoartrose / Experimental model in rats for the development of pseudoarthrosis

OBJETIVO: Descreve-se a técnica de um novo um modelo de pseudoartrose em Rattus norvegicus albinus livre de espécies patogênicas (SPF). MÉTODOS: Os animais foram aleatoriamente distribuídos em dois Grupos: Grupo 1 - Controle (n =6), Grupo 2 - Experimental (n =6). No grupo Controle realizou-se um acesso ao fêmur, seguido da síntese por planos do músculo e da pele. O grupo Experimental foi submetido à osteotomia do fêmur aduzida da confecção de um retalho pediculado de fáscia lata para interposição entre os segmentos resultantes da fratura induzida cirurgicamente. Prosseguiu-se com o alinhamento e aproximação dos segmentos ósseos, mediante uso de fios de náilon introduzidos em orifícios efetuados na extremidade proximal e distal. RESULTADOS: Estudos radiológico e anatomopatológico evidenciaram a ausência de consolidação óssea com persistência de tecido fibro-osteóide decorridos 120 dias de evolução pós-operatória. CONCLUSÃO: O modelo experimental é adequado para a formação de pseudoartrose em ratos.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to describe a new model of pseudoarthrosis in rats free of pathogenic species (Rattus norvegicus albinus - SPF). METHODS: The animals were randomly distributed into two groups were used: Group 1 - Control (n =6); Group 2 - Experimental (n =6). In the Control group an access to the femur followed by the synthesis of the muscular and skin layers was done. The Experimental group was submitted to osteotomy of the femur and a pedicle flap of the fascia lata was interposed between the segments resulting from the surgically induced fracture. The procedure was carried on with both alignment and approximation of the fractured bone through the use of mononylon thread introduced into holes created in the proximal and distal. RESULTS: Radiological and anatomopathological studies showed the absence of bone consolidation with persistence of fibro-osteoid tissue up to 120 days of follow-up. CONCLUSION: The experimental model is suitable for the development of a pseudoarthrosis in rats.

Rhodotorula mucilaginosa as a cause of persistent femoral nonunion.

We present a case of postoperative infection which presented as nonunion fracture femur in a 30-year-old man due to Rhodotorula mucilaginosa. This is the first report of Rhodotorula infection in a patient with fracture nonunion. The patient underwent repeated surgical debridement and received intensive antibiotic therapy before the diagnosis was made. The diagnosis could have been made earlier if the fungal etiology had been suspected earlier. Early suspicion and diagnosis of infection with atypical yeasts could be under-reported because of difficulties in accurate diagnosis and a tendency of attributing isolates to specimen contamination.

Prevalencia de la pseudoartrosis séptica diafisaria en 5 años de trabajo / Prevalence of septic diaphyseal psuedoarthrosis in 5 years of work

Se realizó un estudio retrospectivo para determinar la prevalencia de la pseudoartrosis séptica diafisaria en el Servicio de Ortopedia y Traumatología del Hospital Comandante Pinares en un período quinquenal, con el objetivo de determinar la causa más frecuente de contaminación séptica de las fracturas iniciales y la efectividad del tratamiento implantado. La prevalencia de pseudoartrosis séptica diafisaria en el servicio fue de 5,1 por ciento, el tratamiento inicial más empleado resultó la fijación externa ósea con el fijador RALCA, seguido de la osteosíntesis AO. La causa más frecuente de contaminación de fracturas diafisarias fue la exposición ósea focal aguda y la contaminación posquirúrgica en fracturas cerradas. Los resultados alcanzados fueron buenos en 46,7 por ciento de los casos, mientras que en 20 por ciento resultaron malos, lo que demostró la gravedad de las lesiones combinadas.

A retrospective study was conducted to determine the prevalence of septic diaphyseal pseudoarthrosis in the Orthopedics and Traumatology Service of Comandante Pinares Hospital in a 5-year term to know the most common cause of septic contamination of the initial fractures and the effectiveness of the treatment. The prevalence of septic diaphyseal pseudoarthrosis was 5.1 percent. The most used initial treatment proved to be the external osteal fixation with RALCA fixator, followed by AO osteosynthesis. The most frequent cause of contamination of diaphyseal fractures was the focal acute osteal exposure and the postsurgical contamination in closed fractures. The results attained were good in 46.7 percent of the cases, whereas 20 percent were poor, which showed the severity of the combined injuries.

Management of gap non-union of tibia by tibialisation of ipsilateral vascular fibula.

Gap non-union of tibia following traumatic bone loss or infection dramatically emphasizes the limitation of conventional reconstructive techniques. With presence of significant skin loss or poorly vascularised recepient bed, complications and failure rate increase and solution often lies in amputation. Vascularised ipsilateral fibular grafting offers a viable alternative to this. This is a series of 16 cases of gap non-union of tibia treated by tibialisation of fibula at KEM Hospital, Bombay. All the cases were secondary to osteomyelitis following compound fracture of tibia-fibula or hematogenous osteomyelitis with a large sequestrum. 15 cases had good results with good hypertrophy of bone after union. One case had poor result with fracture going into delayed union with no hypertrophy. We discuss the technique, complications and results of this procedure.

Tratamiento de la no unión ósea con clavo colchero / Treatment with Colchero's nail for bone nonunion

Se presentan 722 casos de no unión ósea (en tibia 344, en fémur 292 y en húmero 86) tratados por medio del clavo Colchero intramedular con pernos. En 382 pacientes el padecimiento fue aséptico y en 340 infectados por lo cual hubo que retirar la sepsis por el método de escarificación, para convertir la falta de unión en aséptica y dejarla preparada para la osteosíntesis. En las no uniones atróficas se utilizó hueso esponjoso autólogo y en las hipertróficas no hubo que recurrir a este procedimiento. La unión se logró con una cirugía en 720 casos, existiendo 2 no uniones que se volvieron a operar por el mismo método y se resolvieron. La marcha con apoyo total se inició a los tres días de la cirugía; con ello, la consolidación fue rápida, el enfermo pudo volver al trabajo pronto y a una vida social activa

Tratamiento de la pseudoartrosis del húmero con clavo intramedular fijo al hueso con pernos / Treatment of non-union of the humeral shaft fractures by bolts-fixed to the bone intramedullary rod and bone grafting, by the Colchero technique

Se realizó un estudio retrospectivo y observacional de 30 pacientes con pseudoartrosis del húmero, infectados y no infectados, de febrero de 1989 a mayo de 1991. La etiología de la pseudoartrosis en el 50 por ciento fue por tratamiento conservador y el restante por osteosíntesis inestable, 11 con placas, dos con Hacketal, un clavo intramedular y dos fijadores externos con combinación. Los pacientes fueron tratados con clavo fijo al hueso por pernos y, cuando lo requirieron, injerto óseo autólogo. Se obtuvo consolidación en el 99 por ciento de los casos, sólo se observó retardo de la consolidación en el 1 por ciento. Las complicaciones que se presentaron fueron reuropraxia del nervio radial en el 25 por ciento de los casos. Hubo protrusión del clavo en el hombro y angulación en valgo del húmero, en un caso. Se concluye que las fracturas del húmero deben ser tratadas quirúrgicamente cuando los fragmentos óseos se encuentran diastasados, ya que el tratamiento conservador no ofrece la estabilidad suficiente para obtener consolidación.

Pseudartroses de falanges da mäos / Pseudoarthrosis of phalanges of the hand

Muito pouco tem sido publicado na literatura mundial sobre as pseudartroses das falanges da mäo. Aqui, os métodos de tratamento foram os mesmos para as pseudartroses em geral: reduçäo cruenta, fixaçäo rígida e enxerto ósseo. Foram revistas 39 pseudartroses de falanges, sendo a ocorrência mais freqüente na falange proximal (53,8%), seguida da falange distal (33,3%) e, finalmente, da falange média (12,8%). Foi usado um bloco de enxerto ósseo corticoesponjoso ("tarugo") quando havia perda de substância e enxerto esponjoso para os outros casos, conseguindo-se 79,5% de consolidaçäo. A maioria dos fracassos ocorreu em casos de lesöes complexas com comprometimento de pele ou partes moles