Understanding the "Empty Toe" Phenomenon: A Rare Case Report.

Closed degloving injury involving a toe represents a rare phenomenon in which the bones of the toe dislocate but the soft-tissue envelope remains intact. It has been described sparingly throughout the medical literature, and outcomes have been poor. This article presents a case report of the unique injury while also investigating trends through a detailed review of the literature.

Intermetatarsal Angle and Hallux Abductus Angle Reduction After First Metatarsophalangeal Joint Arthrodesis in Mild, Moderate, and Severe Hallux Valgus.

BACKGROUND: First metatarsophalangeal joint fusion is a commonly used procedure for treating many pathologic disorders of the first ray. Historically, hallux valgus deformity with severely increased intermetatarsal angle or metatarsus primus adductus indicated need for a proximal metatarsal procedure. However, the effectiveness and reliability of first metatarsophalangeal joint arthrodesis in reducing the intermetatarsal angle has been increasingly described in the literature. We compared findings at our institution with current literature for further validation of this well-accepted procedure in correcting hallux valgus deformity with high intermetatarsal angle. METHODS: Weightbearing preoperative and postoperative radiographs of 43 patients, 31 women and 12 men, meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria were identified. Two independent investigators measured the hallux abductus and intermetatarsal angles. Preoperative and postoperative measurements for each angle were compared and average reduction calculated. The data were further analyzed by grouping deformities as mild, moderate, and severe. Mean follow-up was 10 months. RESULTS: The overall mean preoperative intermetatarsal and hallux abductus angles decreased significantly (from 13.09° to 9.33° and from 23.72° to 12.19°, respectively; both P < .01). When grouping deformities as mild, moderate, and severe, all of the categories maintained reduction of intermetatarsal and hallux abductus angles (P < .01). Furthermore, the mean reduction of the intermetatarsal and hallux abductus angles seemed to correlate with preoperative deformity severity. CONCLUSIONS: In patients undergoing correction of hallux valgus deformity, first metatarsophalangeal joint arthrodesis produced consistent reductions in the intermetatarsal and hallux abductus angles. Furthermore, these findings are consistent with those reported by other institutions.

Gabapentin as an Adjunct to Standard Postoperative Pain Management Protocol in Lower Extremity Surgery.

Postoperative pain is a problem that plagues physicians and has since the dawn of the surgical arts. Many interventions are available and used as the standard such as preoperative local anesthetic blocks, opiates, both oral and intravenous, and nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs. Although the temptation often exists to increase the postoperative opiate dose, opiate abuse is an increasing problem. This abuse has fueled the search for nonopiate pain adjuncts. Gabapentinoids have been shown to both decrease postoperative pain and, secondarily, decrease opiate dependence. This is a growing field in medical research, although it is relatively lacking in the specialty of lower extremity orthopedic surgery. A PubMed query was performed for related articles, which found only 8 related to lower extremity orthopedic surgery, and of these, none addressed the foot or ankle. Studies involving chronic pain, nonorthopedic surgery, orthopedic procedures proximal to and including the hip, studies involving only pregabalin, and studies regarding cancer pain were excluded. The results from our literature review are encouraging regarding the addition of gabapentin as a regular, perioperative adjunctive pain medication because all studied reported data evaluating preoperative administration have shown a statistically significant reduction in postoperative pain and opiate consumption.