Ulnar Nerve Injury during Treatment of Fourth and Fifth Metacarpal Fractures: A Case Report and Anatomical Review.

The deep branch of the ulnar nerve (DBUN) is a pure motor nerve. It passes through a hypothenar fibromuscular tunnel and courses radially on the interossei surface. The DBUN is not frequently considered during hand fracture surgery, despite the anatomical course of the nerve in close relation to the carpal and metacarpal bones, which makes it vulnerable to penetrating injury and being injured during hand surgery fixations. In this article, we describe a case of DBUN injury after percutaneous pinning of the fourth and fifth metacarpal bone fractures complicated by intrinsic muscle wasting of the hand that was treated with neuroma excision and sural nerve graft. We present the case of a 36-year-old man, who had a fracture of the base of the fourth and fifth metacarpal bones, which was treated with multiple K-wires. A few months later, the patient presented with weak abduction/adduction of the three ulnar fingers and prominent wasting in the intrinsic muscles of the hand. On hand exploration, a 2-cm neuroma was found along the course of the DBUN distal to the hypothenar fibromuscular tunnel, which was treated by neuroma excision and nerve grafting. Fractures of the fourth and fifth metacarpals and carpometacarpal dislocations are very common and are often treated surgically. To fix these fractures, awareness of the DBUN course in the hand and its proximity to the carpal and metacarpal bones is important. High caution should be taken during percutaneous pinning by inserting K-wires under radiological guidance, minimizing pining attempts and limiting pin tip protrusion to 1-2 mm.

Complications of conventional percutaneous sacroiliac screw fixation of traumatic pelvic ring injuries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this review was to present a thorough overview of the complications associated with conventional percutaneous sacroiliac screw fixation to identify areas for improvement in surgical technique and patient selection. METHODS: PubMed/Medline, Web of Science, Embase, Ovid, Cochrane library, and Google Scholar were systematically searched for original human studies reporting on complications of conventional percutaneous sacroiliac fixation in traumatic pelvic ring injuries from January 1, 2000, to April 30, 2022. The main meta-analysis was based on the random effect model to pool all complications reported in the included studies. The results were reported as weighted proportions with 95% confidence intervals. This review was conducted in line with PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. RESULTS: A total of 56 studies with 3644 screws (2871 procedures) met the inclusion criteria, with a mean age of 40.5 years. The most frequently reported complications were screw malposition with a weighted proportion of 6% (95% CI: 5-9%) and involved 189 out of 3644 screws, persistent pain following the procedure with a weighted proportion of 3% (95% CI: 2-4%) and affected 98 out of 2871 patients, and nerve injury, which had a weighted proportion of 2% (95% CI: 1-3%) and was observed in 41 out of 2871 procedures. The L5 and S1 nerve roots were more frequently affected. Revision surgery was required for 184 out of 2871 patients with a weighted proportion of 5% (95% CI: 3-7%). The primary reason for the revision was persistent pain after the initial procedure, which affected 74 out of 184 patients, with a weighted proportion of 2.0% (95% CI: 1.2-2.8%). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that screw malposition, the need for revision surgery, persistent pain, and nerve injuries were the most frequent complications following conventional percutaneous sacroiliac screw fixation. However, these results must be interpreted in context due to confounding factors, including the lack of high-quality studies and the absence of uniformity in defining some complications across studies.

The surgical outcomes of fixing ipsilateral femoral neck and shaft fractures: single versus double implants fixation.

BACKGROUND: Combined ipsilateral femoral neck and shaft fractures are rare and present a challenging management dilemma. This study aims to assess the outcome of concomitant fixation of the ipsilateral femoral neck and shaft fracture using single versus dual surgical implants. METHODS: A single-center retrospective analysis of patients who underwent fixation of ipsilateral femoral neck and shaft fractures was performed over a 13-year period. Different techniques were employed to fix the complex injury. Both the reduction and the union time were assessed radiographically. RESULTS: A total of 36 patients with ipsilateral femoral neck and shaft fractures were retrospectively identified and included in the study. Twenty-four patients (66.6%) were managed with a single cephalomedullary nail, while the remaining cases were treated with two devices. All cases were operated on within an average of 3.7 ± 7.1 days. Eight patients (22.2%) developed postoperative complications. The average follow-up period was 7.3 ± 6.8 months. Although there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups, the femoral neck fractures showed shorter union time in patients treated with one implant compared to patients treated with two implants (3.0 ± 2.3 months vs. 4.2 ± 2.6 months). Another observation was that higher percentages of implant removal/failure and malunion/nonunion were seen in patients who had one implant compared to the two implants group (12.5% vs. 8.3%). CONCLUSION: Early surgical fixation of both fractures is associated with good outcome results. No difference in outcome was observed between both groups.

Edema of the Ligamentum Teres as a Novel MRI Marker for Non-Traumatic Painful Hip Pathology: A Retrospective Observational Study.

Background The ligamentum teres has been recognized as an important stabilizer of the hip joint and can be affected by various hip pathologies. This study aims to introduce ligamentum teres edema as an MRI marker to diagnose the underlying cause of hip pathology, mainly femoral acetabular impingement (FAI) and adult developmental dysplasia of the hip (ADDH), in non-traumatic patients. Methodology Adult patients presenting with non-traumatic hip pain of variable duration and ligamentum teres edema on MRI between 2014 and 2020 were included. A high-resolution standard MRI hip protocol was used for all patients in this series. MRI and plain radiographs were assessed. Ligamentum teres edema, alpha angle, center edge angle of Wiberg, and retroversion were assessed. Results In total, 55 patients with 110 hip joints (males: 29 (52.7%), females: 26 (47.3%)) of different ethnicities were included in this study. Out of the 55 patients with ligamentum teres edema, one had only unilateral right-sided FAI, seven had only unilateral left-sided FAI, and 46 (94 hip joints) had either bilateral FAI or ADDH. Therefore, eight (14.5%) patients with unilateral FAI had the absence of the contralateral FAI or ADDH (6.5% false-positive) despite the presence of ligamentum teres edema bilaterally, and the rest of the patients with bilateral ligamentum teres edema (102 joints: 92.7% positive predictive value) had findings of either FAI or ADDH. Conclusions Ligamentum teres edema can be considered as an early MRI marker to diagnose the underlying pathology of symptomatic painful hip disorders, especially FAI.

Minimally Invasive Scoliosis Surgery Is a Feasible Option for Management of Idiopathic Scoliosis and Has Equivalent Outcomes to Open Surgery: A Meta-Analysis.

STUDY DESIGN: Meta-analysis. OBJECTIVE: To compare outcomes between minimally invasive scoliosis surgery (MISS) and traditional posterior instrumentation and fusion in the correction of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). METHODS: A literature search was performed using MEDLINE, PubMed, EMBASE, Google scholar and Cochrane databases, including studies reporting outcomes for both MISS and open correction of AIS. Study details, demographics, and outcomes, including curve correction, estimated blood loss (EBL), operative time, postoperative pain, length of stay (LOS), and complications, were collected and analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 4 studies met the selection criteria and were included in the analysis, totaling 107 patients (42 MIS and 65 open) with a mean age of 16 years. Overall there was no difference in curve correction between MISS (73.2%) and open (76.7%) cohorts. EBL was significantly lower in the MISS (271 ml) compared to the open (527 ml) group, but operative time was significantly longer (380 min for MISS versus 302 min for open). There were no significant differences between the approaches in pain, LOS, complications, or reoperations. CONCLUSION: MISS was associated with less blood loss but longer operative times compared to traditional open fusion for AIS. There was no difference in curve correction, postoperative pain, LOS, or complications/reoperations. While MISS has emerged as a feasible option for the surgical management of AIS, further research is warranted to compare these 2 approaches.

Adhesive capsulitis of the hip joint in a young female. A case-report.

INTRODUCTION: Adhesive capsulitis of the hip is a rare presenting pathology. History and physical examination are essential for diagnosis. Conservative management is the main line of treatment with surgical intervention preserved for resistant cases. PRESENTATION OF CASE: The authors report a case of young female diagnosed with adhesive capsulitis of the hip with two pain free periods during pregnancy and after arthrogram. DISCUSSION: The relation between the pregnancy hormones and generalized laxity is well established. Animals studies proved the role of female hormones in treatment of adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder. CONCLUSION: Hip pain relief during pregnancy can raise the suspicion of adhesive capsulitis of the hip. Further investigations are needed to prove this relation.