[A 51-year-old woman with upper abdominal pain]. / Een 51-jarige vrouw met pijn in de bovenbuik.

A 51-year-old woman presented to the emergency room with upper abdominal pain and elevated infection parameters. No abnormalities were found during gastroscopy. A CT scan demonstrated perigastricappendagitis. Perigastricappendagitis is a rare infarction of a fatty appendix of the perigastric ligaments. It is a benign and self-limiting disease.

Patient-specific distal radius locking plate for fixation and accurate 3D positioning in corrective osteotomy.

Preoperative three-dimensional planning methods have been described extensively. However, transferring the virtual plan to the patient is often challenging. In this report, we describe the management of a severely malunited distal radius fracture using a patient-specific plate for accurate spatial positioning and fixation. Twenty months postoperatively the patient shows almost painless reconstruction and a nearly normal range of motion.

Geometrical adaptation in ulna and radius of cerebral palsy patients: measures and consequences.

BACKGROUND: The presence of significant forearm bone torsion might affect planning and evaluating treatment regimes in cerebral palsy patients. We aimed to evaluate the influence of longstanding wrist flexion, ulnar deviation, and forearm pronation due to spasticity on the bone geometries of radius and ulna. Furthermore, we aimed to model the hypothetical influence of these deformities on potential maximal moment balance for forearm rotation. METHODS: Geometrical measures were determined in hemiplegic cerebral palsy patients (n=5) and healthy controls (n=5). Bilateral differences between the spastic arm and the unaffected side were compared to bilateral differences between the dominant and non-dominant side in the healthy controls. Hypothetical effects of bone torsion on potential maximal forearm rotation moment were calculated using an existing anatomical muscle model. FINDINGS: Patients showed significantly smaller (radius: 41.6%; ulna: 32.9%) and shorter (radius: 9.1%; ulna: 8.4%) forearm bones in the non-dominant arm than in the dominant arm compared to controls (radius: 2.4%; ulna 2.5% and radius: 1.5%; ulna: 1.0% respectively). Furthermore, patients showed a significantly higher torsion angle difference (radius: 24.1°; ulna: 26.2°) in both forearm bones between arms than controls (radius: 2.0°; ulna 1.0°). The model predicted an approximate decrease of 30% of potential maximal supination moment as a consequence of bone torsion. INTERPRETATION: Torsion in the bones of the spastic forearm is likely to influence potential maximal moment balance and thus forearm rotation function. In clinical practice, bone torsion should be considered when evaluating movement limitations especially in children with longstanding spasticity of the upper extremity.

Corrective distal radius osteotomy: including bilateral differences in 3-D planning.

After a fracture of the distal radius, the bone segments may heal in a suboptimal position. This condition may lead to a reduced hand function, pain and finally osteoarthritis, sometimes requiring corrective surgery. Recent studies report computer-assisted 3-D planning techniques in which the mirrored contralateral unaffected radius serves as reference for planning the position of the distal radius before corrective osteotomy surgery. Bilateral asymmetry, however, may introduce length errors into this type of preoperative planning that can be compensated for by taking into account the concomitant ulnae asymmetry. This article investigates a method for planning a correction osteotomy of the distal radius, while compensating for bilateral length differences using a linear regression model that describes the relationship between radii and ulnae asymmetry. The method is evaluated quantitatively using CT scans of 20 healthy individuals, and qualitatively using CT scans of patients suffering from a malunion of the distal radius. The improved planning method reduces absolute length deviations by a factor of two and markedly reduces positioning variation, from 2.9 ± 2.1 to 1.5 ± 0.6 mm. We expect the method to be of great value for future 3-D planning of a corrective distal radius osteotomy.

Patient-tailored plate for bone fixation and accurate 3D positioning in corrective osteotomy.

A bone fracture may lead to malunion of bone segments, which gives discomfort to the patient and may lead to chronic pain, reduced function and finally to early osteoarthritis. Corrective osteotomy is a treatment option to realign the bone segments. In this procedure, the surgeon tries to improve alignment by cutting the bone at, or near, the fracture location and fixates the bone segments in an improved position, using a plate and screws. Three-dimensional positioning is very complex and difficult to plan, perform and evaluate using standard 2D fluoroscopy imaging. This study introduces a new technique that uses preoperative 3D imaging to plan positioning and design a patient-tailored fixation plate that only fits in one way and realigns the bone segments as planned. The method is evaluated using artificial bones and renders realignment highly accurate and very reproducible (d(err) < 1.2 ± 0.8 mm and φ(err) < 1.8° ± 2.1°). Application of a patient-tailored plate is expected to be of great value for future corrective osteotomy surgeries.

Three-dimensional assessment of bilateral symmetry of the radius and ulna for planning corrective surgeries.

PURPOSE: The contralateral unaffected side is often used as a reference in planning a corrective osteotomy of a malunited distal radius. Two-dimensional radiographs have proven unreliable in assessing bilateral symmetry, so we assessed 3-dimensional configurations to assess bilateral symmetry. METHODS: We investigated bilateral symmetry using 3-dimensional imaging techniques. A total of 20 healthy volunteers without previous wrist injury underwent a volumetric computed tomography of both forearms. The left radius and ulna were segmented to create virtual 3-dimensional models of these bones. We selected a distal part and a larger proximal part from these bones and matched them with a mirrored computed tomographic image of the contralateral side. This allowed us to calculate the relative displacements (Δx, Δy, Δz) and rotations (Δφx, Δφy, Δφz) for aligning the left bone with the right bone segments. We investigated the relation between longitudinal length differences in radiuses and ulnas. RESULTS: Relative differences of the radiuses were (Δx, Δy, Δz): -0.81 ± 1.22 mm, -0.01 ± 0.64 mm, and 2.63 ± 2.03 mm; and (Δφx, Δφy, Δφz): 0.13° ± 1.00°, -0.60° ± 1.35°, and 0.53° ± 5.00°. The same parameters for the ulna were (Δx, Δy, Δz): -0.22 ± 0.82 mm, 0.52 ± 0.99 mm, 2.08 ± 2.33 mm; and (Δφx, Δφy, Δφz): -0.56° ± 0.96°, -0.71° ± 1.51°, and -2.61° ± 5.58°. There is a strong relation between absolute length differences (Δz) between the radiuses and ulnas of individuals. CONCLUSIONS: We observed substantial length and rotational differences around the longitudinal bone axis in healthy individuals. Surgical planning using the unaffected side as a reference may not be as useful as previously assumed. However, including the length difference of the adjacent forearm bones can be useful in improving length correction in computer-assisted planning of radius or ulna osteotomies and in other reconstructive surgery procedures. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Bilateral symmetry is important in reconstructive surgery procedures where the contralateral unaffected side is often used as a reference for planning and evaluation.

Computer-assisted planning and navigation for corrective distal radius osteotomy, based on pre- and intraoperative imaging.

Malunion after a distal radius fracture is very common and if symptomatic, is treated with a so-called corrective osteotomy. In a traditional distal radius osteotomy, the radius is cut at the fracture site and a wedge is inserted in the osteotomy gap to correct the distal radius pose. The standard procedure uses two orthogonal radiographs to estimate the two inclination angles and the dimensions of the wedge to be inserted into the osteotomy gap. However, optimal correction in 3-Dspace requires restoring three angles and three displacements. This paper introduces a new technique that uses preoperative planning based on 3-D images. Intraoperative 3-D imaging is also used after inserting pins with marker tools in the proximal and distal part of the radius and before the osteotomy. Positioning tools are developed to correct the distal radius pose in six degrees of freedom by navigating the pins. The method is accurate ( d 1.2 mm, ϕ 0.9°, m TRE = 1.7 mm), highly reproducible (SE (d) < 1.0 mm, SE (ϕ) ≤ 1.4°, SE (m) (TRE) = 0.7 mm), and allows intraoperative evaluation of the end result. Small incisions for pin placement and for the osteotomy render the method minimally invasive.