External fixation of lower limb fractures in children.

26 children with 29 lower limb fractures, between the age of 2 and 15 years, were treated with an external fixator. The average time to union and removal of the fixator was 71 days for femoral and 73 days for tibial fractures. Complications included pin problems in nine cases, two devices had to be replaced with a cast and one refracture.

Complications in the use of diathermy.

Electrical burns in diathermy rarely occur but are not always recognized as such or thoroughly investigated. The literature has proved to be very sparse in terms of reference to complications, although prolonged courses of treatment are required in individual cases. This paper analyses and discusses the problems of burns associated with diathermy that occurred in seven patients.

[An unusual case of gunshot wound to the head].

We are going to present a special case of head injury caused by a gunshot. In this case it resulted in a fracture of the skull, but the bullet did not penetrate the skull. It was deflected by the bone, leaving the body at an angle.

Lower infection rate after interlocking nailing in open fractures of femur and tibia.

Between 1975 and 1987 91 patients with Types I and II open lower extremity fractures (66 tibia and 25 femur) have been treated surgically with interlocking nailing at the I University Clinic of Traumatology, and the Trauma Department of Wilhelminenspital, Vienna. Our infection rate of 1.2% was found to be lower than figures cited in the literature.

[Primary stabilization of open fractures of the lower extremity with the interlocking nail--the results of a study of 91 patients].

The authors report on a series of open fractures (Type I and Type II) on the lower extremities of 91 patients, treated at the I. University Clinic of Traumatology, Vienna and at the Traumatologic Department of Wilhelminenspital, Vienna from 1975-1987. There were 25 open femoral- and 66 open tibial fractures.