Der Unfallchirurg
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Approximately 61,000 amputations are performed in Germany per year. In most cases the lower limbs are affected. The reasons for amputations are arteriosclerosis, diabetes mellitus, severe infections, tumors and complex trauma to the extremities. ⋯ Adjuvant pain therapy is mandatory, especially in order to avoid subsequent phantom pain. The type of prosthetic restoration is influenced by the grade of mobility and personal requirements of patients. Moreover, aftercare and adjusted rehabilitation are recommended.
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Injuries to the hand and wrist are common sports injuries. The diagnosis and therapy of wrist injuries are becoming more important, especially in increasingly more popular ball-hitting sports, such as golf, tennis and baseball. Ulnar-sided wrist pain is initially often misdiagnosed and treated as tenosynovitis or tendinitis but tears of the triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) and fractures of the hook of hamate bone, which can also occur in these sports are seldomly diagnosed. ⋯ Because of the rarity of these injuries there were no exclusion criteria concerning the number of cases. Injuries associated with ball-hitting sports, such as TFCC lesions and fractures of hook of the hamate bone are still underrepresented in the current literature on sports injuries. The diagnosis and treatment of these injuries are often delayed and can severely handicap the performance and career of affected professional as well as amateur athletes.
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Popular trend sports are characterized by intensive and high speed performance. Due to the high energy mechanism in falls, typical injury distributions and patterns result. ⋯ In popular trend sports injuries of the extremities are common, especially of the carpal bones and ligaments. It is important to distinguish stable from destabilizing injuries in order to provide adequate therapeutic options.
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Case Reports
[Bilateral carotid artery dissection in a kite surfer by strangulation with the kite lines.]
While a kite surfer was preparing the kite it was caught by a gust of wind, which blew it 10 m into the air and the cords became entangled around the neck of the kite surfer causing strangulation. After admittance to hospital, the diagnostics revealed multiple injuries including a bilateral dissection of the internal carotid arteries, cerebral edema and multiple fractures. As kitesurfing is gaining popularity severe injuries are becoming more frequent. Safety precautions, such as preparing the kite with two persons, wearing safety equipment and using bars with a safety leash can prevent severe injuries.
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In Germany, the medical assessor is subject to the law on contracts for work and services ("Werksvertragsrecht"). When a medical expert assesses a subject on behalf of a third party, there is no contractual relationship between them. In the field of private insurance law and in social insurance law, the medical expert is faced with various procedural requirements. ⋯ In the absence of third party interest worthy of protection, the right of access to assessment records has to be granted to the subject, who will then authorize the examining medical expert to exercise this right. In private insurance law, only the private health insurance has its regulation concerning obtaining information about treatment or the access to medical assessments. In other types of insurance the medical assessor's right of access to medical examination data and/or the basis for medical findings can only be derived from secondary obligations as part of the insurance contract or directly from general constitutional personal rights.