Unique skin findings in a case of the A3 pulley trigger finger due to an osteochondroma.

Trigger finger is usually caused by stenosing tenosynovitis and hypertrophy of the retinacular sheath, and the most common site of tendon triggering is the A1 pulley. Although the A3 pulley trigger finger has been described in a few cases caused by hypertrophy of the retinacular sheath and ganglion, associated skin findings have not been reported to date. Herein, we report a rare case of the A3 pulley trigger finger due to osteochondroma with unique skin findings in a 50-year-old woman. In this case, we observed a V-shaped skin depression on the palmar side of the proximal interphalangeal joint of the right middle finger during finger locking. Additionally, we observed bilateral linear skin depressions on the sides of the proximal phalange. These findings might be caused by the traction force on the A3 pulley, connected to the skin via the Grayson and Cleland ligaments, which are fibrous tissues that connect the skin and tendon sheath.

Clinical outcomes of short-segment lumbar fusion in patients older than 85 years with a minimum 2-year follow-up.

OBJECTIVE: Although the number of elderly patients requiring lumbar fusion for lumbar degenerative disorders has increased over time, the postoperative outcomes of lumbar fusion in very elderly patients (> 85 years) remains unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the comprehensive outcomes of lumbar fusion in elderly patients older than 85 years with mid-term follow-up. METHODS: The authors retrospectively researched patients older than 85 years who underwent single- or double-level posterior lumbar interbody fusion or transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion from 2012 to 2019. Twenty-nine patients who had at least 2 years of follow-up were included in this study. The average age was 86.4 years, and the average follow-up period was 42.2 months. Each patient was matched with 60- to 75-year-old controls. The Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) score; Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) score; Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score; JOA recovery rate; and low-back pain (LBP), leg pain, and leg numbness visual analog scale (VAS) scores were obtained. The spinopelvic parameters were measured using lateral standing radiographs of the whole spine. RESULTS: Although there were no significant differences in the ODI, RMDQ, JOA recovery rate, and leg pain and leg numbness VAS scores at 2 years postoperatively between the very elderly and control groups, the VAS LBP score was significantly lower in the very elderly group than in the control group. Preoperative and postoperative sagittal vertical axes were significantly higher and sacral slopes were significantly lower in the very elderly group than in the control group. The incidences of postoperative delirium and new lumbar vertebral fracture were significantly higher in the very elderly group (17.2%) than in the control group (4.6%). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that lumbar fusion could be performed in patients older than 85 years with satisfactory postoperative outcomes at the 2-year follow-up. In contrast, progressive spinopelvic sagittal imbalance, the incidence of lumbar vertebral fracture up to the final follow-up, and postoperative delirium were greater in the very elderly group than in the control group.

Brain Metastasis in Soft Tissue Sarcoma at Initial Presentation.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Brain metastasis is a rare condition among patients with soft tissue sarcoma (STS), and its precise incidence remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate which patients should be screened for brain metastasis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We identified all patients with STS diagnosed between 2010 and 2015 in the SEER database. Incidence of brain metastasis at initial presentation and higher incidence of brain metastasis by histological subtype were investigated. In addition, risk factors for brain metastasis were examined. RESULTS: A total of 26,676 patients were included for analysis, of whom 162 patients (0.6%) had brain metastasis. Alveolar soft part sarcoma (6.3%), malignant hemangioendothelioma (3.1%) and malignant schwannoma (2.6%) showed higher incidence of brain metastasis. Deep-rooted tumor, trunk tumor, and histological high-grade tumor tended to show higher incidence of brain metastasis. CONCLUSION: Risk factors for brain metastasis were deep location, trunk development and histologically high-grade tumor, or specific histological subtypes.

Delayed Onset of Infectious Foreign Body Granuloma for Nonabsorbable Sutures After Open Achilles Tendon Repair: A Case Report.

Foreign body granulomas from sutures are more common among non-absorbable sutures compared to absorbable sutures and have been reported as a postoperative complication in a variety of medical fields. However, only a few cases of delayed foreign body reaction have been reported and addressed with orthopedics. We present a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus who developed an infectious suture granuloma that extended to the entire Achilles tendon and was induced by nonabsorbable sutures that were used for open Achilles tendon repair 20 years before. This granuloma was resistant to antibiotic treatment and drainage and required surgical intervention. The tumor was marginally resected, and the continuity of the Achilles tendon was preserved. Histopathological examination detected many suture materials surrounded by xanthochromic necrotic lesions and the lesion was diagnosed as a foreign body granuloma. At 1 year after the operation, the patient did not exhibit exacerbation of infection or recurrence of the tumor, and she became able to walk by herself. To the best of our knowledge, this represents the first report of an infectious delayed foreign body granuloma in autoimmune disorder patient after open Achilles tendon repair. Surgical intervention should be considered, as treatment with conservative therapy such as antibiotics may be difficult.