Surgical release of the pediatric trigger thumb.

Purpose: The spontaneous recovery rate for locked pediatric trigger thumb (PTT) has recently been reported at between 24% and 66%; these studies concluded that a conservative approach for this condition could be adopted. The aims of this study were to review our results of surgical release of the PTT and to survey pediatric hand surgeons regarding their practice patterns for treatment of the PTT.

Methods: After institutional review board approval, we retrospectively reviewed 173 consecutive patients with 217 thumbs treated surgically at our institution.

Mapping of scapular fractures with three-dimensional computed tomography.

Background: Fractures of the scapula involve a unique and challenging set of considerations, which must be understood to provide optimal treatment. The primary goal of this study was to create a frequency map of a series of surgically treated scapular fractures that specifically involved the scapular body and/or neck.

Methods: A prospective database was used in the collection of consecutive radiographic imaging studies of patients undergoing operative treatment of scapular fractures.

Case report: reconstruction of a recalcitrant scapular neck nonunion and literature review.

We present the first reported treatment failure of a reconstructed scapula body that proceeded to nonunion. This is a unique case report of an otherwise healthy patient who underwent open reduction and internal fixation of a scapula fracture nonunion, which is very rare. Failure of internal fixation in this application has not been reported, and, to our knowledge, this is only the fifth case report of a scapula body nonunion that was reconstructed.

Activity level in young patients with primary total hip arthroplasty: a 5-year minimum follow-up.

Increased activity level after total hip arthroplasty (THA) is considered a risk factor for early prosthetic failure in young patients. Forty-one primary total hip arthroplasties in 34 patients were evaluated. Walking activity was measured using a pedometer to record gait cycles.

Operative treatment of acute distal femur fractures: systematic review of 2 comparative studies and 45 case series (1989 to 2005).

Background: The incidence of distal femur fractures is approximately 37 per 100,000 person-years. Typically, distal femur fractures are caused by a high-energy injury mechanism in young men or a low-energy mechanism in elderly women. Managing these fractures can be a challenging task.

The application of dermatotraction for primary skin closure.

Management of an open wound is a problem frequently encountered in the treatment of fractures. Skin grafting, rotational flaps, free flaps, and healing by secondary intention add a considerable amount of morbidity and cost to the patient. Therefore, it is ideal to obtain primary closure when possible.

Pulmonary microvascular fracture in a patient with acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Objective: To present electron micrographs of lung tissue obtained from a patient exposed to high ventilatory pressures in the context of pulmonary dysfunction and pulmonary hypertension.

Design: Case report.

Setting: Adult intensive care unit of a university-affiliated teaching hospital.

Capsaicin-sensitive adrenal sensory fibers participate in compensatory adrenal growth in rats.

Compensatory adrenal growth, in which one gland undergoes hyperplasia after removal of the other, is mediated by a neural reflex. In the present studies, a method employing capsaicin to selectively remove adrenal sensory fibers was developed and applied to determine whether adrenal capsaicin-sensitive fibers participate in compensatory adrenal growth. The splanchnic nerves of anesthetized male rats were treated with capsaicin or vehicle.