Lateral supramalleolar flap: Is it based on perforator of peroneal / anterior tibial artery; A cross-sectional study at tertiary care centre.

BACKGROUND: To determine the anatomical basis of supramalleolar flap; retrograde versus antegrade and its clinical outcome based on the vascular pattern. METHODS: This analytic cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. Patients who underwent coverage of soft tissue defects around the foot and ankle with supramalleolar flaps were included. Data collection was through medical records including demographic parameters, mechanism of injury, per-operative findings of perforator origin, and patient interviewing for final assessment. Patients with peripheral vascular disease, unavailability of skin, and radiation injuries were excluded. All analysis was done using SPSS version 25.0. RESULTS: 49 patients were included in the study from May 1999 to December 2020. The male to female ratio was 37:12. The cause of soft tissue defects was trauma in 9 (38.7%) followed by Infection in 16 (32.6%) and Blast injury in 5 cases (10.2%). The maximum flap size harvested was 20 × 8 cm. In 19 cases the peroneal artery perforator was absent and the flap was based on the perforator of an anterolateral malleolar branch (antegrade) while the remaining 30 flaps were based on the perforator of the peroneal artery (retrograde). Overall, the flap survival rate was 98%; as 1 case had partial necrosis and required skin grafting. However, there were 9 minor complications. In 8 patients, the flap was rotated as a 'delay flap' . All patients had satisfactory functional outcomes without significant morbidity of the donor site. CONCLUSION: The lateral supramalleolar flap provided coverage to almost all regions of the foot and ankle with a cosmetically acceptable donor and recipient site. There were no problems with shoe wear, as only 2 patients required defatting for cosmetic reasons. Microvascular expertise was required for a predictable outcome.

Outcome of proximal femur replacement in failed internal fixation of hip fractures, a case series.

INTRODUCTION: Failure of hip implant surgeries can be caused by various factors. Failure of internal fixation results in pain and restricted ambulation. In management of an elderly patient with hip fractures, the aim is to ambulate patient. The purpose of our study is to assess the outcomes of proximal femur replacement in the management of failed hip surgeries for fractures of the proximal femur. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 26 patients, who underwent proximal femur replacement for failed surgeries of hip fracture during the period from April 2011 to March 2018, was conducted. All patients who underwent proximal femur replacement for failed hip implants were enrolled into the study. RESULTS: Total patients were 26. The mean follow was (12-91 months). The mean Harris Hip score improved from 26 preoperative to 66.7(45-91). Three patients developed dislocations which were managed with closed reduction. Three patients died within one year of surgery, one patent died of sepsis from implant infection at four months after surgery, one patient died of Myocardial infarction. Three patients developed surgical site infection of which one has superficial surgical site infection which was managed with oral antibiotics, in other case developed deep surgical site infection and was managed with wound debridement and IV antibiotics for 6 weeks, in third wound debridement was done but patient died of sepsis. CONCLUSION: Proximal femur replacement with modular stem implant has advantages over conventional hip implant in patients undergoing surgery after failure of internal fixation.

Surgical management of metastatic lesions of proximal femur and the hip.

Metastatic bony lesions involving proximal femur and hip joint pose a challenge to orthopedic surgeons. Lesions in this important weight-bearing zone of the femur weaken its ability to sustain load causing pain and impending pathologic fracture. These Patients warrant multidisciplinary approach including orthopedic surgeons, oncologist and medical specialties. Management of these lesions has evolved over the last 60 years from benign neglect to internal fixation and recently to prosthetic reconstruction for optimum function. Decision for surgical approach requires consideration for location of the lesion, presence of a fracture, tumor type, cortical destruction, patient's life expectancy, patient preferences and the expected outcome. We aim to present a narrative review of the options and results of surgical management of these lesions in the light of literature.

Preliminary radiological result after establishment of hospital-based trauma registry in level-1 trauma hospital in developing country setting, prospective cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: Injuries are the second most common cause of disability, the fifth most common cause of healthy years of life lost per 1000 people and unfortunately 90% of mortality takes place in low-to middle-income countries. Trauma registries guide policymakers and health care providers in decision making in terms of resource allocation as well as enhancing trauma care outcomes. Furthermore data from these registries inform policy makers to decrease the rate of death and disability occurring as a result of injuries. We present our experience in setting up an orthopedic trauma registry and the first short term follow-up of radiological outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY: Our study is a non-funded, non-commercial, prospective cohort study that was registered at Research Registry. The primary objectives of our study included assessing pattern of injuries in patients with upper and lower limb skeletal trauma presenting to our tertiary care academic university hospital and their respective outcomes. Data was collected by the musculoskeletal service line team members supervised by an experienced research associate and trauma consultants. The work has been reported in line with the STROCSS criteria. RESULTS: A total of 177 patients were included in this analysis, of whom 101 (57.1%) patients had lower limb fractures, 64(36.1%) patients ad upper limb fractures and 12 (6.8%) patients had both upper and lower limbs involved. A total of 189 upper and lower limb fracture cases were recorded. 176 patients (93.1%) underwent surgeries and 13(6.9%) were managed nonoperatively. Roentgenographic outcomes were assessed using radiological criteria for each bone fractured. CONCLUSION: Establishing a trauma registry assists in identification of the pattern of injuries presenting to the hospital which helps in priority setting, care management and planning. This continuous audit of outcomes in turn, plays a significant role in quality improvement.

Establishing musculoskeletal oncology service in resource constrained country: challenges and solutions.

The burden of orthopedic tumor surgery in Pakistan is not known. Similarly the number of procedures being performed for bone and soft tissue surgery are not known. This is even becoming more challenging where the existence of rules and regulations in health care are next to minimal. Furthermore data recording in our country and case registries hardly exist. Despite the lack of information and resources, with high disease burden on community, various providers provide surgical interventions every day in our settings. A lot of tumor surgery is still being done by general surgeons and general orthopedic surgeons who have little knowledge and update about musculoskeletal oncology principles. Lack of subspecialized centers and the high cost of such centers force the patients to visit these surgeons for a highly sophisticated problem like a bone tumor which is the disease of young bones. In this article we will emphasize on the difficulty in establishing an orthopedic tumor service in our part of the world and the consequences including delay in diagnosis, faulty course of management and later decline in functionality, disease progression and increased mortality. We will highlight the principles and stepwise approach of orthopedic tumor surgery and explain the difficulty encountered if these principles are not followed.

Regular post dinner walk; can be a useful lifestyle modification for gastroesophageal reflux.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the correlation of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptoms with routine post dinner physical activity and time interval before going to bed, in multiethnic South Asian population. METHODS: Prospective, cross sectional analytical, multicenter study was conducted from February 2009 to March 2010. Patient's relative sitting in outpatient clinics with no comorbids, nonsmoker and non alcoholic were included. They were asked to fill a validated GERD questionnaire and were also inquired about routine post dinner physical activity (lying, sitting, walking) and dinner-bed time interval. Odds Ratios (OR) and their 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) were estimated using Logistic Regression, with gastroesophageal reflux (GER) symptoms as an outcome. RESULTS: Subjects analyzed were 1875. Mean age was 35.37 +/- 12.69 years of which 689 (36.74%) had GERD symptoms. GERD symptoms were 42.08% in routine post dinner recumbency position. While 35.17% and 30.52% had the symptoms in post dinner sitting and walking before going to bed [OR for walking 0.66 (95% CI 0.5-0.88) when compared with lying posture]. GERD symptoms were 45.86% among those with dinner-bed time of one hour, progressively decreasing to 41.68%, 31.45% and 29.88% in the second, third and forth hour respectively. Odds ratio was significant only at 3rd [0.55 (0.41-0.74)] and > or = 4th hr [0.51 (0.37-0.71)] when compared with first hour. CONCLUSION: Regular post dinner walk and > 3 hour dinner-bed time interval were less associated with GERD symptoms.