Injury
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Perioperative opioid pain management protocols should reflect anticipated patient need. Fracture location and external fixation may be related to post-operative pain. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of fracture location, articular injury, and pre-operative external fixation, and articular injury on perioperative opioid demand following definitive fixation. ⋯ Fracture location and pre-operative external fixator placement predicted perioperative opioid demand. Articular zone (pilon, plateau, and distal femur) fracture fixation was associated with the largest increases in opioid demand after lower extremity fracture fixation. Patients with these injuries may be at highest risk of extensive opioid consumption.
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Review
Fracture nonunion in long bones: A literature review of risk factors and surgical management.
Nonunion following a long bone fracture causes considerable morbidity when it occurs. Risk factors depend on specific fractures but there is a complex interplay of injury severity, comorbidities, patient medication and infection. ⋯ Despite interest in the biological augmentation of fracture healing, the majority of nonunions can be effectively managed with conventional surgical techniques. In this review we present a review of risk factors for nonunion and the outcome following surgical management.
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Although the success story of surgical fracture treatment led to a tremendous improvement of treatment outcome for certain fractures such as femur or tibia shaft fractures, the overall benefit of surgical versus conservative treatment remains controversial for several types of fractures. For this sake, we carried out a narrative review of high-level of evidence studies comparing treatment outcomes in fractures with controversial debates on the value of surgical therapy in clavicle, proximal humerus, olecranon, ankle, calcaneus and Jones fractures. We identified eight studies (Level-I and -2) with functional and quality of life outcomes in these fractures. ⋯ Nonunion after conservative treatment often seemed to have only limited impact on functional results. However, the comparability of studies was limited due to age-differences between patients. Therefore, we emphasize the need for further investigations to determine which patient-related factors favor a conservative treatment approach and for whom surgery is the best option.
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The management of large segmental bone defects caused by trauma or disease remains clinically challenging within orthopaedics. The major impediment to bone healing with current treatment options is insufficient vascularization and incorporation of graft material. Lack of rapid adequate vascularization leads to cellular necrosis within the inner regions of the implanted material and a failure of bone regeneration. ⋯ Bone tissue engineering (BTE) remains an exciting prospect for the treatment of large segmental bone defects; however, current clinical integration of engineered scaffolds remains low. We believe that the barrier to clinical application of bone tissue engineering constructs lies in the lack of concomitant vascularization of these scaffolds. This mini-review outlines the progress made and the significant limitations remaining in successful clinical incorporation of engineered synthetic bone substitutes for segmental defects.
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Segmental tibia defects remain challenging for orthopedic surgeons to treat. The aim of this study was to demonstrate bone-related and functional outcomes after treatment of complex tibial bone defects using Ilizarov bone transport with a modified intramedullary cable transportation system (CTS). ⋯ Bone transport using both intramedullary CTS and Ilizarov ring fixation is viable for treating patients with bone loss of the tibia and complex infection or soft tissue conditions. However, a high number of complications and surgical revisions are associated with the treatment of this severe clinical entity and should be taken into account.