Unique Idea: Using the KliniTray "Breast Board" for Immobilization of Digital Amputates During Replantation.

The KliniTray "breast board" used by many oncological breast surgeons is an innovative idea to succor microsurgical digital replantation. This piece of sterile equipment is readily available and provides excellent immobilization and retraction of the skin of digital amputates with minimal trauma. The fine metal pins are the key to its efficacy. They provide the flexibility to alter the position of the amputated part and alter the retraction of skin edges as many times as necessary. The construct acts as a tremor-free assistant for a single surgeon to efficiently prepare the amputated part of a digit, saving time including expensive theatre time.

Microsurgical Salvage of Neonatal Upper Limb Ischaemia Following Intrauterine Brachial Vessel Constriction.

Neonatal limb ischaemia is a rare disease entity with devastating morbidity, including compartment syndrome, tissue loss, limb loss, reduced limb growth, irreparable neuropathies and Volkmann's syndrome.  We report a case of limb revascularisation and salvage due to intrauterine brachial artery thrombosis. Published literature is limited to case reports and case series, with various treatment modalities discussed. Early recognition, prompt institution of appropriate treatment and monitoring is vital to achieve successful revascularisation and prevention of life-long morbidity. A male baby at (36+6week) gestation was born to a nulliparous mother with gestational diabetes via uncomplicated elective caesarean section. Aetiology was due to dense fibrotic circumferential constriction of the brachial vessels and plexus. Successful revascularization was achieved with a contralateral interposition reversed great saphenous vein graft.  Though extremely rare and the clinical presentation varies with the location and timing after birth, the surgeon should maintain a low threshold for suspicion of in the presence of the characteristic sequelae of ischaemia. Doppler ultrasonography can aid the diagnosis where ambiguous, and therapy should be individualised based on the clinical presentation; this case emphasises the role of surgery in limb salvage.

Necrotising Myofasciitis of the Lower Limb Secondary to Extra-Peritoneal Rectal Perforation.

Necrotising fasciitis (NF) is a severe and life-threatening soft tissue infection that often requires extensive debridement and reconstruction. Isolated extra-peritoneal rectal perforations due to trauma, cancer, inflammatory bowel pathology or iatrogenically induced can rarely cause necrotising fasciitis beyond the perineum. Given its rarity, there is a high threshold of suspicion which often leads to late recognition and poor outcome. We present a case of necrotising myofasciitis of the right lower limb following occult rectal perforation sustained during elective flexible sigmoidoscopy, and augment this case report with a literature review to guide diagnostics, intervention, and recovery. Therefore, the aim of this work was to review, compile, analyse, and present clinical details to identify masquerading presentations and determine the optimal treatment regimen. A search of PubMed, Scopus, Ovid, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL Plus, AMED, Web of Science (Science Citation Index), and Google Scholar was supplemented by hand searching. Data extracted included demographics, patient management, and outcome. Of 104 citations identified by a systematic literature search, eight case reports of eight subjects with necrotising fasciitis of the lower limb secondary to rectal perforation met the criteria for analysis. The most common treatment modality was surgical debridement in all cases and bilateral above knee amputation in one case, disarticulation of the lower limb was the treatment in this case we report. Furthermore, faecal diversion by the formation of de-functioning colostomy was performed in the same setting for four (50%) of the patients and appeared to increase survival. Overall 45 days mean (S.E.) disease-specific survival was found to be 32.8 (7.0) days. There is an insufficient number of cases reported to date to confer a significant survival advantage between having a defunctioning colostomy in the same setting as the debridement as opposed to having it at a later setting or not having it at all (Mantel-Cox p=0.1). In summary, a review of all the cases in the literature suggests that NF of lower limbs can be an atypical presentation of rectal cancer, pathology, and/or trauma. We report a case of unilateral lower limb NF secondary to rectal perforation in a non-cancer patient, likely due to flexible sigmoidoscopy. Due to the small number of patients, it is inherently difficult to draw firm conclusions however multi-modality management appears to be more effective, with meticulous debridement, defunctioning of the bowel and downstaging radiotherapy if required. We recommend a UK-wide, national database/registry for NF that will help gather data and formulate more standardised management guidelines.

Bordetella bronchiseptica pneumonia: beware of the dog!

We report the case of a 35-year-old quadriplegic male with confirmed Bordetella bronchiseptica pneumonia, manifesting with acute hypoxic respiratory failure on a background of chronic hypercarbia requiring mechanical ventilation in intensive care.B. bronchiseptica are known to colonise the upper respiratory tracts of many mammals but are very rarely responsible for acute respiratory tract infections in humans.A review of the literature suggests preponderance for immunocompromised or immunoincompetent patients who have experienced environmental exposure to colonised animals. The disease pattern of B. bronchiseptica infection is non-uniform and while it is rarely described as a commensal or colonising organism, very few case reports describe severe respiratory infections.