The use of the vacuum-assisted closure in microsurgical reconstruction revisited: application in the reconstruction of the posttraumatic lower extremity.

Introduction of vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) system into clinical practice has revolutionized wound care. Despite its multiple advantages, however, the VAC is only rarely used in the setting of microsurgical reconstruction. Concerns have been the inability to clinically monitor the flap as well the possibility of flap compression by the device.

A critical evaluation of the concomitant use of the implantable Doppler probe and the Vacuum Assisted Closure system in free tissue transfer.

Introduction of the Vacuum-Assisted Closure (V.A.C.

[Serum amyloid A as a useful index of disease activity in polymyalgia rheumatica].

Purpose: To clarify the usefulness of measuring serum amyloid A (SAA) levels in patients with polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR), we compared this parameter to C-reactive protein (CRP).

Subjects And Methods: The study included 10 patients with PMR, who could be prospectively followed up from the start of prednisolone (PSL) treatment until the CRP level decreased to 1 mg/dl or less. When the CRP level decreased, the subjects were divided into the group in which the symptom persisted (n = 6) and those in which the symptom disappeared (n = 4).

[A patient with polymyalgia rheumatica who exhibited fever as the main symptom for a long period].

We encountered a patient with polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) who exhibited fever as the main symptom for a long period without muscular pain. As an etiological factor, the condition may have been associated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). A 71-year-old man consulted our Department of Orthopedics for fever and lumbar pain, which initially developed in early September 2000.