Eur J Trauma Emerg S
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Eur J Trauma Emerg S · Apr 2008
Radial Head Fractures: Indications and Technique for Primary Arthroplasty.
The treatment of complex radial head fractures remains a challenge for the orthopedic surgeon. Novel implants and improved surgical techniques have made reconstruction of the radial head with open reduction and internal fixation possible in most cases. However, extremely comminuted radial head fractures with associated instabilities still require replacement of the radial head with a prosthesis to allow rehabilitation with early motion of the elbow, and thereby optimizing the functional results of these potentially devastating injuries. In this article we discuss the surgical considerations related to radial head replacement, encompassing the indications for radial head arthroplasty, implant selection, surgical technique, rehabilitation protocols, and complications related to radial head prosthesis.
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Osteoporosis is the most common metabolic bone disease. Recently, the paradigm for diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis has undergone changes due to new findings on this disease. With the arrival of densitometers that could measure BMD we started using medications that block further degradation of density and repair the densitometric results. ⋯ Hip protectors are protective pads designed to cover the greater trochanter and attenuate or disperse the force of fall sufficiently to prevent a hip fracture. A number of cost-benefit studies on residential elderly patients between 2004 and 2006 proved the efficacy of MIPP and hip protectors, and some studies did so also on those patients living independently. Unfortunately, as much as 75% of women and 90% ofmen at high risk in nursing homes are not investigated, and 75% of those affected are not treated.