Disaster Management Response Guidelines for Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery.

Complacency and lack of preparation are major barriers to an effective disaster response. Leadership assignments and departmental organization for a response should be outlined in advance. Response rehearsal and after-action reviews allow for thoughtful change to a response plan.

Special topics.

Concerning the past decade of war, three special topics were examined at the Extremity War Injuries VII Symposium. These topics included the implementation of tourniquets and their effect on decreasing mortality and the possibility of transitioning the lessons gained to the civilian sector. In addition, the training of surgeons for war as well as residents in a wartime environment was reviewed.

Treatment of acetabular fractures in an older population.

Objective: To identify factors predicting poor radiographic and functional outcome and delayed total hip arthroplasty in operatively managed acetabular fractures in patients 55 years of age and older.

Design: Retrospective chart and radiographic review of a prospectively maintained database.

Setting: Tertiary care hospital.

Superior versus anteroinferior plating of the clavicle revisited: a mechanical study.

Objectives: This study was designed to compare bone-implant stiffness of two fixation techniques on a sawbone model of a clavicle fracture.

Methods: Twenty-four preosteotomized synthetic left clavicles (Sawbones Worldwide, Vashon, WA) were divided into four groups based on type of fixation: standard 3.5-mm pelvic reconstruction plate in the superior position; standard 3.

Acetabular fractures in the elderly: treatment recommendations.

Acetabular fractures in the elderly population are marked by a high degree of variability in terms of patient and fracture characteristics. Successful outcomes depend on application of highly individualized management principles by experienced teams. Reviewed are indications and outcomes associated with various management options, including closed treatment, open reduction internal fixation, and acute or staged total hip arthroplasty.