[Therapeutic strategies for covering traumatic defects of the heel area].

Tissue defects of the heel region are a challenging problem. Various reconstructive techniques were performed in 44 patients with 59 defects around the heel region, who were treated between 1994 and 1999 following a traffic accident in 27%, a burn injury in 25%, and other traumatic causes in 48%. Free flap coverage was performed in 20 defects (36%), local flaps were used in 15 patients (27%) and autologous skin transplantation in 21 patients (36%).

[First continuous nerve monitoring in thyroid gland surgery].

Unlabelled: A new "all in one" sensing device was developed for continuous transtracheal intraoperative monitoring and in situ detection of the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) during thyroid surgery.

Patients And Methods: The new system is based on a double-balloon endotracheal tube with integrated atraumatic stimulating and tracing electrodes. The recurrent laryngeal nerve is stimulated transtracheally and compound action potentials are recorded from the laryngeal muscles.