[Neuromuscular deficits in chronic ankle instability. Frequency and significance - multicenter study]. / Neuromuskuläres Defizit bei chronischer Sprunggelenkinstabilität. Häufigkeit und Wertigkeit - Multicenterstudie.

The peroneal reaction time (PRT) is used in the assessment of neuromuscular deficits in chronic functional ankle instability. Powered by the Editorial Manager and Preprint Manager from Aries Systems Corporation the present study was conducted to determine the PRT in a large collective of patients with chronic ankle instability because it is unclear if this parameter of neuromuscular deficit is prolonged. In this study 186 patients underwent a diagnostic algorithm consisting of anamnesis, clinical examination, X-ray and determination of the PRT on a tilting platform. A prolonged PRT as a manifestation of a neuromuscular deficit could be detected in the majority of the patients (n = 143, 77%). Comparing the affected and healthy legs 77 patients (41%) showed a significant difference in talar shift (p = 0.002) and talar tilt (p = 0.04) in the radiological stress views. Of these 77 patients only 15 (8%) showed radiological evidence of a mechanical problem. As a consequence of recurring ankle sprains a post-traumatic deficit in proprioception has to be expected in most cases. In general a conservative therapy approach should be followed including specific training to improve neuromuscular and proprioceptive deficits.

[Knee dislocation--a simple diagnosis? Compartment syndrome with occlusion of the popliteal artery and lesion of the peroneal nerve after inadequate trauma]. / Die Kniegelenkluxation--eine einfache Diagnose? Kompartmentsyndrom mit Verschluss der A. poplitea und Läsion des N. fibularis communis nach inadäquatem Trauma.

Knee dislocations are rare and often associated with damage to the surrounding structures. We present a case where a soldier sustained a complex knee dislocation during routine training. This trauma was associated with a compartment syndrome, occlusion of the popliteal artery, lesion of the peroneal nerve and multiple lesions of ligaments and tendons of the knee.

[The educational program for modern military surgeons]. / Weiterbildung zum modernen Militärchirurgen.

Casualties in military conflict produce patterns of injuries that are not seen in routine surgical practice at home. In an era of increasing surgical sub-specialization the deployed surgeon needs to acquire and maintain a wide range of skills from a variety of surgical specialties. Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have become the modus operandi for terrorists and in the current global security situation these tactics can be equally employed against civilian targets. Therefore, knowledge and training in the management of these injuries are relevant to both military and civilian surgeons. To create this kind of military surgeon the so-called "DUO-plus" model for the training of surgical officers (specialization general surgery plus a second specialization either in visceral surgery or orthopedics/trauma surgery) has been developed in the Joint Medical Service of the German Bundeswehr. Other relevant skills, such as emergency neurotraumatology, battlefield surgery with integrated oral and craniomaxillofacial surgery and emergency gynecology, are integrated into this concept and will be taught in courses. Log books will be kept in accordance with the training curricula. On successful completion of the program medical officers will be officially appointed as Medical Officer "Einsatzchirurg" by their commanding officers for a maximum of 5 years and it will be necessary to renew it after this period. These refresher programs will require participation in visiting physicians programs in the complementary surgical disciplines in order to retain the essential specific skills.

Dependence of the risk of encephalopathy on the radiotherapy volume after combined surgery and radiotherapy of invasive pituitary tumours.

The effectiveness of radiotherapy in reducing tumour recurrence of pituitary adenomas is well documented. On the other hand, the risk of side effects to the surrounding central nervous system normal tissue should not be underestimated. This retrospective study includes 58 patients with subtotally resected pituitary tumours. Photon from a 5,7 MV linear accelerator of a 60 cobalt unit with a source-isocenter distance of 80 cm were used throughout for treatment. The doses per fraction ranged from 45 Gy to 60 Gy. For a direct comparison of the different fractionation schedules, the biological effective total dose with 2 Gy per fraction was calculated for all the different application schemes with doses per fraction longer or smaller than 2 Gy. To do this, a fractionation sensitivity of the normal cerebral tissue by an square / square value of 2 Gy was assumed. Encephalopathy developed in 17 cases (28 percentage) after follow-up times of more than 5 years. Pathological CT- or MRI-findings were seen in 13 cases. Two factors were important for the genesis of radiogenic encephalopathy: 1. Multivariate analysis revealed that the risk of encephalopathy was associated with the radiation volume. 2. The location of the upper field border line was the strongest prognostic factor associated with the risk of encephalopathy (p<0.05).

Classifications in routine use: lessons from ICD-9 and ICPM in surgical practice.

OBJECTIVE: Classifications of diagnoses and procedures are very important for the economical as well as the quality assessment of surgical departments. They should reflect the morbidity of the patients treated and the work done. The authors investigated the fulfillment of these requirements by ICD-9 (International Classification of Diseases: 9th Revision) and OPS-301, a German adaptation of the ICPM (International Classification of Procedures in Medicine), in clinical practice. DESIGN: A retrospective study was conducted using the data warehouse of the Surgical Center II at the Medical Faculty in Essen, Germany. The sample included 28,293 operations from the departments of general surgery, neurosurgery, and trauma surgery. Distribution of cases per ICD-9 and OPS-301 codes, aggregation through the digits of the codes, and concordance between the classifications were used as measurements. Median and range were calculated as distribution parameters. The concentration of cases per code was graphed using Lorenz curves. The most frequent codes of diagnoses were compared with the most frequent codes of surgical procedures concerning their medical information. RESULTS: The total number of codes used from ICD-9 and OPS-301 went up to 14 percent, depending on the surgical field. The median number of cases per code was between 2 and 4. The concentration of codes was enormous: 10 percent of the codes were used for about 70 percent of the surgical procedures. The distribution after an aggregation by digit was better with OPS-301 than with ICD-9. The views with OPS-301 and ICD-9 were quite different. CONCLUSION: Statistics based on ICD-9 or OPS-301 will not properly reflect the morbidity in different surgical departments. Neither classification adequately represents the work done by surgical staff. This is because of an uneven granularity in the classifications. The results demand a replacement of the ICD-9 by an improved terminological system in surgery. The OPS-301 should be maintained and can be used at least in the medium term.

[Considerations for the indications for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Results of conservative versus operative treatment]. / Uberlegungen zur Differentialindikation der vorderen Kreuzbandplastik. Ergebnisse nach Ersatz des vorderen Kreuzbandes im Vergleich zur Spontanprognose.

Medium-term results with a follow-up of at least 3 years were done in 160 patients (average follow up 51 months) after ACL reconstruction using IKDC evaluation form and Noyes score and in 110 patients (average follow Up 53 months) after non-operative management. Unlike objective good parameters the subjective assessment of knee function according to the Noyes score reveals significantly worse results in cases with ACL reconstruction compared to the knees without surgery. The best functional results we found in professional athletes after ACL reconstruction. Comparable positive results of knee function is only achieved in approx. 15% of the patients from the natural history group, who can maintain high risk pivoting activity level feeling no giving way. In our opinion compensatory proprioceptive mechanism account for the surpassing results in these two groups of patients. It will be postulated that it is not the absolute power of the hamstring but the latency period of recruition that influences the compensation of anterior knee instability. We have modified our rehabilitation methods in order to improve proprioception and dynamic stability of the ACL-deficient knee. Based on our results we primarily limitate the ACL reconstruction on a group of patients practicing high-risk-pivoting sports. Only when menisceal lesions appear or patients suffer from giving way episodes we support secondary surgery. The pivot shift sign is reflecting the dynamic aspect of knee instability. In our opinion it is the decisive parameter to assess knee instability unless there are useful technical procedures.

Combined surgery and radiotherapy of invasive pituitary adenomas--problems of radiogenic encephalopathy.

The aim of the present study was to find out: can combined modality of surgery and local irradiation in case of invasive pituitary adenomas prevent tumour relapse and develop radiogenic late damage after this therapy. Thirty-three patients suffered from primary hypophysomas and twenty-three patients had pituitary tumour recurrences. In all cases combined therapy was performed. The long term results of 56 patients showed a recurrence rate of 5.4% (3 cases). The median follow-up time was 152 months, ranging from 101 to 197 months. Clinical and neuroradiological signs of radiogenic encephalopathy developed in 16 cases (28%). Because of slow progression, the exact beginning of the neurological symptoms was difficult to determine and varied from 7 to 11 years. The extent of the cerebral and endocrinological disturbances was very different but a marked effect of the optic nerve was not seen. It seems that the usual X-ray therapy with single doses of 1.8 Gy and total doses of 45-50 Gy have a high risk of radiogenic morbidity.

Elevation of intracranial pressure in acute AIDS-related cryptococcal meningitis.

Prior to the AIDS-era, elevation of intracranial pressure was known to be a typical complication of cryptococcal meningitis associated with an increased risk of early death. In AIDS-patients, however, the prevalence and clinical significance of this complication are as yet unclear. We analysed clinical features and courses, CSF findings, serological results and neuroimaging scans in acute cryptococcal meningitis in eight patients with AIDS. Five showed symptoms and signs compatible with raised intracranial pressure, which was life-threatening in one and the most probable cause of death in another. Serial monitoring of intracranial pressure together with repeated CSF analysis revealed that severe intracranial pressure elevation in AIDS related cryptococcal meningitis can occur in spite of effective antimycotic treatment, does not depend on an increased CSF/serum osmolality ratio or CSF overproduction and can be associated with normal cranial computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging findings. Our data support the hypothesis that CSF reabsorption failure plays the crucial role in the pathophysiological mechanism. External lumbar drainage may be of benefit in selected cases of acute AIDS related cryptococcal meningitis with persisting life threatening elevation in intracranial pressure and normal computed tomogram.

Operative treatment and prognosis of syringomyelia.

Twenty-two patients suffering from syringomyelia were treated operatively. Different shunt procedures were performed. Most often syringo-subarachnoid shunt (seven cases) and syringopleural shunt (eight cases) were used. Operative findings and complications were discussed. Postoperative improvement was observed in five patients, twelve were stable-unchanged, four showed further deterioration and one died. Operative treatment should be performed before gross neurological deficit is established.

Subarachnoid hemorrhage of unknown origin. Longterm prognosis.

Patients suffering subarachnoid hemorrhage in whom angiography does not initially show vascular malformation and CT scan rules out an intracranial tumor, have, reportedly, a good prognosis with a rate of recurrent hemorrhage of about 2-10% within a follow-up time of up to 15 years. Most authors denied indication for control angiography. In order to study the benefit of control angiography performed after 4-6 weeks, four-hundred eighty-three patients with SAH but without ICH were reveiwed, and the longterm clinical course of 98 patients with SAH of unknown origin treated in our department between 1976 and 1988 was investigated. Among 183 patients who underwent control angiography, a second angiography showed an aneurysm in 143. The third angiography was positive in a further 18 patients. Recurrent SAH occurred early only in patients who had undergone only one angiography. One patient died from intracerebral hemorrhage of unknown origin two years following SAH. These data support the need for control angiography in cases of SAH.

[Complications of ventral fusion operations in degenerative intervertebral disk diseases]. / Komplikationen ventraler Fusionsoperationen bei degenerativen Bandscheibenerkrankungen.

1112 anterior cervical fusion operations were performed on 951 patients according to the method described for the first time by Grote in 1970. The neurogenic, mechanical and inflammatory complications arising with this method are described. The typical complications are demonstrated by means of case reports and their possible causes are discussed. The incidence rate of the individual complications is compared with that reported in the literature for a total of 8366 fusions performed on 6384 patients.

Neutron therapy of low grade "pencil" gliomas of the spinal cord: a review of ten cases.

Between 1980 and 1986 ten patients (two males, eight females, median age: 35 years) with spongioblastomas and ependymomas grade I of the spinal cord were treated with fast neutrons from the d(14) + Be reaction after incomplete tumour surgery. Eight patients received three weekly fractions of 0.7 to 1.33 Gy and two patients four weekly fractions of 0.8 Gy to total doses of 7.4 to 10.4 Gy. Two complete and six partial remissions of ataxia and motor disturbances were observed. Bladder dysfunctions in five patients cleared up partially in three cases. In two patients the symptomatology remained unchanged. After a follow-up of eight to 88 months two initially complete and two out of six partial remission were maintained. No severe late effects of the skin have been determined. In summary it is concluded that for incompletely resected "pencil"-gliomas fast neutron therapy seems to be a feasible treatment modality.

Intramedullary pilocytic astrocytomas--a clinical and morphological study after combined surgical and photon or neutron therapy.

Ten patients suffering from intramedullary pilocytic astrocytomas (WHO-classification: astrocytoma grade I) were investigated catamnesticly. Combined surgery and radiotherapy was performed. Seven patients received neutron irradiation postoperatively. In four cases the neurological symptoms were improved after follow-up periods ranging from 33 to 89 months. The three other patients died after 6 to 21 months. The autopsy findings of a 14 year old child are presented. Our results are compared with reports in the literature. In addition, long-term problems of the spinal column are discussed. It seems that the combined surgical and neutron therapy improves the prognosis of pencil gliomas.

Diagnostic problems and operative treatment of pituitary microadenomas.

Over an average observation period of 53 months 26 patients with endocrinological active microadenoma of the hypophysis (12 M. Cushing, 14 acromegaly) were retrospectively examined. Only in 11 cases did the CT-examination demonstrate intrasellar tumour expansion. Both the problems of and the criteria for CT-diagnosis of microadenoma were demonstrated. In 22 cases (84%) the microsurgical transsphenoidal exstirpation of the adenoma led to an adequate reduction in both ACTH and HGH. No postoperative deterioration of the other hypophysial functions was seen. It could be further demonstrated that where the surgical therapy failed local radiation therapy with high voltage radiation of the hypophysis region led to a reduction of the abnormal hormone secretion. The comparism of our results with those reported in the literature led us to suggest a combined therapy concept in which the indication for operative, conservative and radiation therapy is delineated.