Paravertebral compartment syndrome after training causing severe back pain in an amateur rugby player: report of a rare case and review of the literature.

Background: Acute compartment syndrome (CS) of the paravertebral muscles without external trauma is rarely reported in literature. Not all of clinical symptoms for CS are applicable to the paravertebral region.

Case Presentation: A 30-year-old amateur rugby player was suffering from increasing back pain following exertional training specially targeting back muscles.

A rare manifestation of sarcoidosis with sensomotoric neuropathy of the ulnar nerve as the only symptom.

A 79-year-old woman was admitted complaining of progressive weakness and numbness of the right hand. The patient was otherwise healthy. The patient's history was unremarkable.

Colorimetric examination of typical free flap donor sites and comparison to recipient sites in the extremities.

Results after free flap reconstruction in the extremities are often impaired by missing color match of the transferred flap and the recipient site. But pre-existing color match is the precondition for satisfying aesthetic results. To obtain suitable free flap donor sites in terms of color for extremity reconstruction and to understand frequent color mismatch, we performed a colorimetric study including 60 healthy volunteers.

Instep split skin grafts on muscle flaps to reconstruct pressure exposed soft tissue parts at the lower extremity.

Background: Reconstructed mechanically stressed zones of the lower extremity frequently suffer from problems such as hyperkeratotic edges or chronic ulcerations in the transition zone between conventional thigh skin grafts and normal skin. Defect coverage with skin grafts harvested from the instep region and placed on muscle flaps is not yet an established alternative.

Methods: This is a retrospective study of a series of 12 clinical applications of soft tissue reconstruction at mechanically exposed zones of the lower extremity.

Surgical vein occlusion--comparison of four different methods in a rat model.

Background: Among many aspects, wound healing depends on early restoration of venous blood flow across wound margins. The type of surgical occlusion of vein stumps during operations was assumed to have an influence on the early postoperative reunion of vein stumps and thereby on wound healing. Currently, there are different methods of vein stump occlusion available: ligation (e.

Capsular flap for coverage of an exposed implant after skin-sparing mastectomy and immediate breast reconstruction.

Native skin-flap necrosis following skin-sparing mastectomy (SSM) is treated by raising a capsular flap, formed as a consecutive physiological reaction around breast implant. Using this highly vascularised thin tissue layer as an implant coverage withdraws pressure from the defect and allocates a good background for wound healing.

[Versatility of the free gracilis muscle flap for coverage of soft-tissue defects].

Objective: Coverage of soft-tissue defects of various sizes by an easy-to-do and reliable free muscle/myocutaneous flap.

Indications: Soft-tissue defects of a size up to 10 x 22 cm. Functional muscle transfer, e.

Pattern of injury after rock-climbing falls is not determined by harness type.

Objective: Experimental data indicate that when using a sit harness alone, any major fall during rock climbing may cause life-threatening thoraco-lumbar hyperextension trauma or "head down position" during suspension. To clarify the actual influence of the type of harness on the pattern and severity of injury, accidents involving a major fall in a climbing harness were analyzed retrospectively.

Methods: Individuals with a height of fall equal to or exceeding 5 m were identified through a search of accident and emergency records for the period from 2000 to 2004.

Pattern and severity of injury in avalanche victims.

In avalanche accidents, the significance of major trauma as a cause of morbidity and mortality is controversial. The aim of this retrospective study is to determine the severity and pattern of injury in avalanche victims admitted to the University Hospital of Innsbruck between 1996 and 2005. A total of 49 significant injuries were found in 105 avalanche victims; the most frequent were of the extremities (n = 20), the chest (n = 18), and the spine (n = 7).

A pelvic fracture model for the assessment of treatment options in a laboratory environment.

Background: Optimal prehospital and clinical management of patients with severe pelvic trauma is controversial. Prospective evaluations of different treatment strategies have not been performed and treatment is currently not evidence-based. The purpose of the present study was to develop a porcine model of reproducible severe pelvic trauma for subsequent laboratory trials.

Tyrolean tensiometer: a new instrument for easy intraoperative tension measurement before vascular anastomosis.

Background And Aim: In reconstructive surgery microsurgical repair of dissected arteries sometimes has to be done under longitudinal tension. Guidelines to support an objective decision on whether tension associated with direct suture is acceptable or whether grafting is needed, do not exist. All experimental data found concerned the clinical outcome of a certain length defect treated in various animal models.

Medicolegal aspects of tetrazepam metabolism.

The benzodiazepine tetrazepam is primarily muscle relaxant with comparably lower central sedating effects and is therefore commonly prescribed for muscle spasms of different origins. To evaluate tetrazepam metabolism, a study was conducted with ten healthy volunteers. Blood and urine samples were regularly collected after the intake of 50 mg tetrazepam.

Tyrolean tensiometer: A new instrument for easy intraoperative tension measurement before nerve coaptation.

Background: In reconstructive surgery microsurgical repair of dissected nerves can be done end-to-end or by using a nerve graft. Guidelines to support an objective decision, whether tension associated with direct suture is acceptable or grafting is needed, do not exist. All experimental data found concerned the clinical outcome when a certain length defect was treated in various animal models.

Bipolar anastomosis technique (BAT) enables "fast-to-do", high-quality venous end-to-end anastomosis in a new vascular model.

The interrupted suture technique is most commonly used for microsurgical venous anastomosis. Needle-stitch trauma and intraluminal suture, however, potentially cause vascular wall damage, thrombosis, intimal hyperplasia or even stenosis. Therefore, the present study aimed to show the feasibility and reliability of a modified cuff technique (bipolar anastomosis technique (BAT)) for venous end-to-end anastomosis in a new chicken throat vascular model.

Nipple reconstruction using a modified arrow flap technique.

Nipple reconstruction is the perfection of breast reconstruction. Although many reconstruction techniques are available, all come with the risk of projection loss. Most of the commonly used local flap techniques give reliable immediate results, but are associated with a loss in projection of 50 to almost 70% over the first three postoperative years.

Peroneal nerve lesion after sural nerve graft harvest: an unusual complication--case report.

After harvesting of the sural nerve, the patient developed a partial palsy of the common peroneal nerve due to a lesion of the peroneal nerve and a neuroma of the sural nerve stump. Motor function recovered after performing neurolysis of the common peroneal nerve and mobilization of the neuroma. The sural nerve, in this case originating from the common peroneal nerve, was harvested using a nerve stripper and four small skin incisions.

Severity and pattern of injury in survivors of alpine fall accidents.

Few data are available on the medical aspects of fall accidents in mountainous terrain. Therefore, we report the severity and pattern of injury in 97 survivors of a major fall in Alpine terrain. Twenty-eight of 97 victims (29%) had severe or critical multisystem trauma, with an injury severity score >/=14, the incidence increasing to 23 out of 28 (82%) in individuals with falls exceeding 50 m.

Bipolar anastomosis technique with removable instruments: an easy, fast, and reliable technique for vascular anastomosis.

The interrupted suture technique is most commonly used for microsurgical vascular anastomosis. For several reasons (e.g.