Intrapelvic mass causing femoral compression neuropathy in a patient with Gaucher disease: a case report.

Gaucher disease is a lysosomal storage disorder in which glucocerebroside accumulates within the macrophages in any part of the body. Varying degrees of skeletal involvement may occur besides anemia, coagulation abnormalities and hepatosplenomegaly. Most of the factors influencing the quality of life in a patient with Gaucher disease are related to bone involvement. Gaucher cell deposits may extrude through cortical erosions and cause soft tissue masses around bones which are involved by the disease. We present a 38-year-old female patient with Gaucher disease who had a large intrapelvic mass originating from left iliac bone causing femoral compression neuropathy. The classification of disease is based on neurological involvement and if symptoms exist whether the symptoms are acute or subacute. The neurological impairment caused by compression by a tumor should be distinguished from the ones reported in neurogenic forms of the disease.

An alternative patellar resurfacing technique in knee replacement: patellofemoral fascial interposition arthroplasty.

The present study reports the early clinical results of 38 osteoarthritic patients (38 knees) who were treated by total knee replacement in conjunction with patellofemoral fascial interposition arthroplasty (PFIA). After the femoral and tibial components were inserted, a fasciotendinous graft was harvested from the anterior surface of the quadriceps tendon and sutured around the articular surface of the patella. The patients were followed-up for a minimum of 24 months. The durability of the fascial graft was assessed radiographically by addition of a wire suture marker placed into the fascia in the first five patients. Patients were evaluated using the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) knee-rating system, and anterior knee pain was assessed using specific patellofemoral-related questions. The average HSS knee score improved from 61 points preoperatively to 92 points at 24 months' follow-up (P<0.001). Twenty-five patients (65.7%) had anterior knee pain preoperatively, and seven patients (18.4%) revealed anterior knee pain at their last visits (P<0.001). The position of the markers in the fascial grafts did not show any change during radiological follow-ups. Our data suggest that, PFIA provides good pain relief and it may be an alternative resurfacing technique avoiding the complications of patellar components.

Histoacryl glue in meniscal repairs (a biomechanical study).

The purpose of this study was to investigate the biomechanical efficacy of Histoacryl (cyanoacrylate, N-asetil 2 butyl sistein) in meniscal tear repair. In our study, the primary stability of three different repair techniques in delaying the formation of a gap of 2 mm was investigated. A meniscal tear was repaired with two vertical sutures and Histoacryl in the first group; it was repaired only with Histoacryl in the second group, and with only two vertical sutures in the third group. Menisci were then placed in a tensile loading machine, and the primary stability of the repair zones was measured until a displacement of 2 mm occurred. Biomechanical force was significantly (P<0.05) high (112.0+/-17.20 N) in all groups when vertical suture and Histoacryl glue were used together during displacements of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 mm. We believe that Histoacryl is superior to vertical sutures regarding gap delaying. It potentiates the effect of vertical suture strength, permits early motion and thus merits an in vivo study.

Intra-articular injection of tenoxicam in osteoarthritic knee joints with effusion.

Thirty patients who had grade II to III osteoarthritis according to Kellgren-Lawrence system and presenting with acute effusion of the knee joint were randomly assigned to 2 groups. All patients were treated with aspiration of the synovial fluid, cold application, and rest. Fifteen patients received an intra-articular injection of tenoxicam 20 mg following aspiration. The other group was administered oral tenoxicam 20 mg a day for 10 days. Patients were examined at 2, 4, and 8 weeks and then in 3-month intervals. At followup visits, pain was assessed using visual analog scale: range of motion, and effusion of the knee joint were recorded. A repeated measure test was used to determine the significance of changes in pain and mobility between the groups. Student's Neyman Keuls test was used to determine the significance of differences within the groups. Chi-square test was used for the number of episodes. The intra-articular injection group had more rapid pain relief than the oral treatment group (P < .01). At the end of 1 year, the number of effusions was significantly lower in the intra-articular treatment group (P < .01). These results indicate that intra-articular injection of tenoxicam provides rapid pain relief in the patients with acute flare-up of knee osteoarthritis and helps to prevent effusion.

Evaluation of cyanoacrylate augmentation of transpedicular screw pullout strength.

PURPOSE: Pedicle screw fixation of osteoporotic bone in the elderly is a challenge. Various augmentation methods have been studied by many authors. Although polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) augmentation is believed to be a standard method, its usage is fraught with complications. Butyl-2-cyanoacrylate is an alternative to PMMA as it is bioresorbable, biocompatible, inexpensive, and noninfective. The objective of the current study was to determine the pullout strength of the pedicle screws when butyl-2-cyanoacrylate is used for augmentation. METHODS: Fresh calf lumbar vertebrae were obtained from male calves weighing 100-120 kg and implanted with pedicle screws. The screws were placed in native, unaugmented bone (group 1), butyl-2-cyanoacrylate-augmented bone (group 2), and PMMA-augmented bone (group 3). Axial pullout tests were done by an Instron 4411 universal testing machine. Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS 9.0 for Windows program. Paired samples t test was used, and P < 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: The mean bone mineral density of the vertebrae was 1.6 +/- 0.1 g/cm2. The mean pullout strengths were 1.55 +/- 0.23 kN for group 1, 1.62 +/- 0.42 kN for group 2, and 2.55 +/- 0.22 kN for group 3. There was no statistically significant difference between groups 1 and 2. PMMA augmentation increased the pullout strength significantly when compared with butyl-2-cyanoacrylate augmentation and native bone (P = 0.002 and P = 0.001, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study show that butyl-2-cyanoacrylate has no contribution to the augmentation of pedicle screw fixation in a calf model when compared with native bone or PMMA augmentation. Further studies are required to evaluate the effectiveness of butyl-2-cyanoacrylate in osteoporotic specimens and under cyclic loading in calf vertebra and animal and cadaver models before dispensing with its utility as an augmentation method in the clinical setting.

Effect of patient age and symptom duration on subjective and objective outcomes of carpal tunnel surgery.

This study prospectively examined the relationship between patient age and symptom duration on surgical outcome of carpal tunnel syndrome. Surgical outcomes were evaluated using both subjective and objective measures and statistical analysis was performed using canonical analysis. The result revealed patient age and symptom duration have significant effects on bot subjective and objective outcomes of carpal tunnel surgery.

[The use of N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate (Histoacryl) in primary tendon repair: a biomechanical study with sheep flexor tendons]. / Tendon onariminda N-butil-2-siyanoakrilat (Histoakril) kullanimi: Koyun fleksör tendonuyla biyomekanik çalisma.

OBJECTIVES: In this study, the biomechanical properties of peripheral tendon repair with the use of epitendinous suture technique and N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate (Histoacryl) (NBSA), a biodegradable glue, were compared. METHODS: Twenty-four flexor tendons were harvested from sheep hind limbs. Following transection of the tendons, 12 tendons (group 1) were repaired with modified Kessler core sutures using no 2 prolene and epitendinous running sutures with 3/0 prolene. In the other 12 tendons (group 2), NBSA was applied between the cut surfaces before placing modified Kessler core sutures. Placed on an hydrolic test machine, half of the tendons from each group were subjected to load to failure with a tensile force of 20 mm/min and the other half to cyclic loading with a tensile loading between 1-15 N at a rate of 20 cycles/min. Observation of a gap of 1 mm between the tendon ends in each test was regarded as repair failure. RESULTS: The mean load to failure was 27.3 N (range 25 to 32 N) for group 1 and 50.4 N (range 32 to 63 N) for group 2 (p=0.022). The mean number of cycles at failure was 140 (range 45 to 250) in group 1 and 350 (range 150 to 600) in group 2 (p=0.032). CONCLUSION: Our results showed that peripheral tendon repair with the use of NBSA has biomechanical advantages over repair with the epitendinous running suture technique.

Fixation of a talar osteochondral fracture with cyanoacrylate glue.

Cyanoacrylate glue was invented by Ardis in 1949 and was first used in surgery in 1959 by Coover. By further modifications, a nonhistotoxic form, butyl-2-cyanoacrylate, which had strong tissue binding properties even in nondry environments, was developed. Its use in the fixation of fractures and osteotomies is still under investigation and has had promising results in treatment of craniofacial and mandibular injuries. We fixed a talar osteochondral fracture with cyanoacrylate. After 3 months, magnetic resonance imaging showed an anatomically reduced and intact chondral surface. The clinical result was excellent. We believe cyanoacrylate glue may form an alternative means of fixation for osteochondral and, possibly, for chondral fractures.

Topographic localization of the motor branch of the median nerve.

PURPOSE: To redefine the localization of the thenar branch (TB) of the median nerve in relation to the surface landmarks that are in routine use. METHODS: The study was performed in 37 hands of 34 patients who had carpal tunnel release. All of the patients were women and the mean age was 50 years (range, 35-67 y). A radiologic marking technique was used to determine the localization of the TB, the middle finger radial side line, and Kaplan's cardinal line. The TB was marked by circumscribing with a soft radiopaque yarn and the surface landmark lines were shown by taping a K-wire to the hand for each line. An image-intensifier-printed image was obtained for each case and the distances between the markers of the TB and the wires were measured. RESULTS: The TB had a mean ulnar offset of 12.6 mm (range, 4.0-19.7 mm) from the middle finger radial side line and was located 4.4 mm (range, 0-9.5 mm) proximal to the cardinal line. CONCLUSIONS: During carpal tunnel release surgery the surgeon must pay more attention to the localization of the TB of the median nerve because it was found to be 12.6 mm more ulnar than the location described in the literature.

[A simple positioning device for radiographic imaging of the patellofemoral joint: a technical note]. / Patellofemoral eklemin radyografik görüntülemesi için basit bir pozisyon cihazi: teknik not.

The informative value of axial radiographs of the patellofemoral joint is highly dependent on application techniques and knee positioning. We developed a simple device that enables an appropriate and easy positioning. With the use of this device, patellofemoral axial radiographs can be obtained at 30 degrees of knee flexion.

The anterior center edge angle: a study of 102 volunteers.

OBJECTIVES: To measure the anterior center edge (VCE) angle that reflects anterior coverage of the femoral head. PATIENTS AND METHODS: False profile views of both hips of 102 volunteers, 23 male and 79 female, were taken between October 2000 and October 2001. Radiographs with evidence of degenerative hip disease and those with poor image quality were excluded from the study. This left 181 radiographs. RESULTS: An orthopedic surgeon and a radiologist used a standard protractor to examine each of the 181 radiographs twice, at an interval of 24 h. The mean VCE angle was 49.27 +/- 7.77 degrees (range, 24.75-68.75), a value different from those found in previous studies. No significant intraobserver or interobserver differences were found. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings may contribute to the determination of a new parameter for evaluating anterior femoral head covering. In patients with acetabular dysplasia and deficient anterior coverage, this parameter may prove useful for selecting patients for surgery, planning the procedure, and evaluating postoperative results.

Head injury-associated bone fractures induce bacterial translocation: an experimental study.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether long bone fractures cause bacterial translocation and to investigate the effect of concomitant head trauma on this process. DESIGN: An in vivo animal model. SETTING: Animal Laboratory, University of Mersin School of Medicine, Mersin, Turkey. SUBJECTS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 60). INTERVENTION: Sixty male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups: (1). anesthesia only (control group, n = 12); (2). anesthesia and tibia fracture (n = 12); (3). anesthesia, tibia fracture, and femur fracture (n = 12); (4). anesthesia, tibia fracture, femur fracture, and moderate head trauma (n = 12); and (5). moderate head trauma only (n = 12). After 24 hours, mesenteric lymph nodes, liver, spleen, ileum, and systemic blood samples were quantitatively cultured for aerobic organisms. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Colony-forming unit per gram for bacteria count. RESULTS: The incidence of bacterial translocation was higher in groups that had fractures (4/12 in group 2; 5/12 in group 3) than in the control group (2/12); however, this did not reach statistical significance. There was a significant increase in the number of subjects with bacterial translocation in group 4 (9/12) compared with the control group and group 5 (3/12) (P = 0.0123, P = 0.0391). CONCLUSIONS: Multiple fractures of long bones associated with head injury promote bacterial translocation.

[The role of electrophysiologic tests in the early diagnosis of posterior interosseous neuropathy in patients thought to have lateral epicondylitis]. / Lateral epikondilit öntanisi konan olgularda posterior interosseöz sinir nöropatisinin elektrofizyolojik testlerle arastirilmasi.

OBJECTIVES: We investigated the role of electrophysiologic tests in determining posterior interosseous neuropathy (PIN) in patients with a preliminary diagnosis of lateral epicondylitis. METHODS: Thirty-three patients (24 females, 9 males; mean age 49 years) with a preliminary diagnosis of lateral epicondylitis and 15 healthy controls (10 females, 5 males; mean age 48 years) underwent radial, median, and ulnar nerve conduction studies, electromyography (EMG) of some selected muscles, and measurements for grip strength. The duration of symptoms was less than a month in all the patients and no therapy was instituted. RESULTS: A diagnosis of PIN was made in 22 patients (66.7%). The mean ages of the patients with and without PIN were 45 and 51 years, respectively. The mean grip strengths did not differ significantly between the patients and controls, and between the right and left hands. All the patients responded well to conservative treatment. CONCLUSION: Electrophysiologic tests may be necessary and beneficial in the differential diagnosis of PIN in patients unresponsive to treatment for lateral epicondylitis of early stage.

The effect of alprostadil on ischemia-reperfusion injury of peripheral nerve in rats.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of alprostadil on the ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury of the sciatic nerve in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Pre-reperfusion administration of alprostadil (0.05 microg kg(-1)) was assessed in the I/R injury model of the rat sciatic nerve. In this model, blood samples were investigated for the I/R injury markers namely malondialdehyde (MDA), an indicator of lipid peroxidation, and nitrite/nitrate levels, products of nitric oxide (NO) metabolism. RESULTS: A significant decrease in MDA, and increase in NO levels were observed in the groups which received alprostadil before reperfusion, when compared to their corresponding untreated controls (I/R only) at all time intervals (P=0.0001). There was a statistically significant difference in both MDA, and NO levels between certain time intervals. There was no statistical linear correlation between MDA and NO levels. CONCLUSION: Alprostadil may be suggested as a protective anti-inflammatory and a vasodilator pharmacological agent for I/R injury in peripheral nerves. Also, measurements of NO and MDA may be complementary to the generally accepted evaluation parameters of I/R injury including electromyography and nerve histopathology.

Involvement of the proximal tibiofibular joint in osteoarthritis of the knee.

This study was performed to evaluate the possible involvement of the proximal tibiofibular joint in primary osteoarthritis of the knee. A total of 40 patients with primary osteoarthritis of the knee who had magnetic resonance imaging scans were reexamined for proximal tibiofibular joint involvement. The patient was questioned if pain was present in the proximal tibiofibular joint while at rest, when walking and climbing stairs. Symptoms were evaluated by applying moderate compression over the proximal tibiofibular joint during active ankle and knee motions. Magnetic resonance imaging scans were reexamined by two radiologists. Three of the 40 patients had minimal or moderate pain in the proximal tibiofibular joint during stair-climbing and on clinical examination. Magnetic resonance imaging scans of these three patients revealed osteophyte or subchondral cyst formation, or both. Degenerative changes in the proximal tibiofibular joint may be evident in association with osteoarthritis of the knee and may result in lateral-sided pain at the knee.

[The development of the wrist joint in the fetal period]. / El bilegi ekleminin fetal dönemdeki gelisimi.

OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to investigate the development and anatomical features of the wrist joint, particularly the scapholunate ligament and triangular disc in the fetal period and to identify possible congenital variations. METHODS: The study included 16 wrist joints of eight fetuses aborted at ages 8 to 14 weeks. The samples had no macroscopically discernible anomalies. Tissue specimens were fixed in 10% formalin solution, embedded in paraffin, and mounted on a microtome to obtain 5-micron sections in the coronal plane. Following staining with hematoxylin and eosin, conventional light microscopic examinations were performed. RESULTS: Organization of the carpal ligaments in the wrist joint began on the radial side in the 9th week. In the 10th week, the scapholunate ligament was formed; a membranous structure was observed, which lied from the interfacet prominence of the radius to the scapholunate ligament and divided the wrist joint into two cavities. The triangular disc formation began to appear at this stage. During the 11th and 12th weeks, the membranous structure underwent regression from the dorsal to the volar aspects, and at the end of the 14th week, the wrist joint became a single cavity. Also noted was the development of fibrous appearance of the scapholunate ligament and the triangular disc into fibrocartilage. Vascular areas were identified on the radial rather than the ulnar side of the scapholunate ligament, but vice versa for the triangular disc. Bicompartmental structure seemed to persist in the wrist joint of a 14-week-old fetus. CONCLUSION: In this study, we demonstrated that the scapholunate ligament and the triangular disc were not homogeneous in the fetal period in terms of vascularity and cellularity. We speculate that a plica-like membranous structure may persist in the wrist joint as a remnant of the fetal life. An accurate knowledge of the anatomy is necessary for the treatment planning and arthroscopic interpretation of the wrist joint.

Measurement of the humeral head retroversion angle. A new radiographic method.

BACKGROUND: In this study, a simple and reliable radiographic method is described to determine the torsional profile of the humeral head. METHODS: First, by using a specially developed frame, the humeral head retroversion angles (HRAs) of 20 dry humeri were measured by an anatomist and an orthopedist. Then the HRA of these humeri were measured by two orthopedists on radiographs taken in semi-axial view when the humeri were in 20 degrees abduction. RESULTS: The results were assessed with the SPSS 9.05 program, and the repeatability coefficient of both methods was 98%. The average difference in angle determination between the two methods was 0.9 degrees; the maximum difference was 3 degrees. After that, posteroanterior semi-axial radiographs of both humerus bones of 40 healthy volunteers were taken by positioning their arms in 20 degrees abduction to the X-ray axis. The mean HRA difference between the right and left sides was 0.4 degrees (maximum difference 3 degrees ) and is of no clinical significance. It was determined that left and right HRAs can be taken as a reference to each other. For measurement of the HRA in the planning of proximal humeral rotation osteotomy and prosthesis replacement arthroplasty, the presented radiographic method can be used with a high rate of accuracy.