Nontraumatic Perforation of the Metacarpal by the Stem of a Flexible Silicone Implant in a Patient with Rheumatoid Arthritis.

A 49-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis who underwent replacement arthroplasty of second to fifth left metacarpophalangeal joints with silastic implant seven years ago presented with a complaint of mild pain and discomfort on the replaced joint of index finger. Ulnar deviation had relapsed, with severe swan neck deformities. Computed tomography examination demonstrated that the tip of the stem of the silicon implant penetrated the second metacarpal.

Recurrent volar dislocation of the metacarpophalangeal joint of the thumb with radial collateral ligament injury: A case report.

Introduction: A volar dislocation of the metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint of the thumb is a rare trauma, and in combination with a radial collateral ligament (RCL) injury is much rarer. We present a surgical case with a recurrent volar dislocation of the MCP joint of the thumb with RCL injury.

Presentation Of Case: A 47-year-old man was referred to our hospital in the subacute phase.

Recent Advances in Liquid Biopsy Based on Circulating Tumor DNA.

Many types of cells secrete DNA, RNA, and proteins through microvesicles, such as exosomes and apoptotic bodies, for the purpose of extracellular communication [...

The impact of hindfoot deformities for the recurrence of hallux valgus after joint-preserving surgeries for rheumatoid forefoot deformities.

Background: Recurrence of hallux valgus (HV) is a common complication after forefoot surgery for rheumatoid forefoot deformities. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of hindfoot malalignment on recurrence.

Methods: This was a retrospective observational study designed to analyze the radiographic outcomes of 87 feet in 64 patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with a joint-preserving surgery for HV deformity.

Features of patients with rheumatoid arthritis whose debut joint is a foot or ankle joint: A 5,479-case study from the IORRA cohort.

Background: Foot and ankle joint disorders are serious issues for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We compared the differences between patients with RA whose first symptom involved a foot or ankle joint (FOOT group) versus other joints (non-FOOT group) within the Institute of Rheumatology, Rheumatoid Arthritis (IORRA) cohort in our institute.

Patients And Methods: In the IORRA survey conducted in April 2016, patients were invited to complete six questionnaires about their first symptom at RA onset, current foot or ankle symptoms, daily living activities, and mental health.

Long-term Outcome of Open Synovectomy with Radial Head Resection for Rheumatoid Elbow.

Background: We reviewed our surgical results of open synovectomy with radial head resection for rheumatoid elbow.

Methods: We reviewed the 20 patients (22 elbows) underwent open synovectomy for rheumatoid elbows retrospectively. The minimum follow-up period is over 10 years, and the average was 13 years 4 months.

Multiple Tophaceous Gout of Hand with Extensor Tendon Rupture.

A 45-year-old man presented with painless subcutaneous masses bilaterally on his hands and loss of motion or contracture of the fingers. Initially, drug therapy to reduce the serum uric acid was administered and was expected to reduce the tophi. However, during observation at the clinic, spontaneous rupture of an extensor tendon occurred, and surgical repair of the tendon and resection of the masses were performed.

Tocilizumab treatment in patients with rheumatoid arthritis is associated with reduced fibrinogen levels and increased blood loss after total knee arthroplasty.

Objective: Since IL-6 has been associated with activation of the coagulation cascade and upregulation of fibrinogen transcription, we retrospectively tested the hypothesis that patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with tocilizumab (TCZ) may lose more blood when undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA).

Methods: This study included 115 RA patients who underwent primary TKA and were preoperatively tested for fibrinogen levels. The blood volume of each patient was calculated using the Nadler formula, and estimated blood loss after TKA was calculated as the change between pre-operative and post-operative hematocrits.

A comparison of the dose of anesthetic agents and the effective interval from the block procedure to skin incision for ultrasound-guided supraclavicular brachial plexus block in upper extremity surgery.

Objective: The aim of this study was to review and evaluate the selection and dose of anesthetic agents and the interval from the block procedure to skin incision for supraclavicular brachial plexus block in upper extremity surgery.

Methods: We reviewed our cases that underwent upper extremity surgery using only ultrasound-guided supraclavicular brachial plexus block in our hospital between 2011 and 2016. Adverse events during surgery were evaluated.

Correlation between hand bone mineral density and joint destruction in established rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: We aimed to clarify the correlation between bone mineral density (BMD) and the modified total Sharp score of the hand in Japanese patients with established rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: We examined the hands of 57 patients who had RA for more than 20 years. BMD for the whole hand was measured using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry.

Modified Extensor Pollicis Longus Rerouting Technique for Boutonniere Deformity of the Thumb in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Purpose: To assess the outcomes of a modified extensor pollicis longus (EPL) rerouting technique for boutonniere deformity of the thumb in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Methods: A total of 21 thumbs in 18 patients with a mean age of 63 years were retrospectively analyzed after an average follow-up period of 3.2 years.

Association between position of the fixed ulnar head and carpal translocation after the Sauvé-Kapandji procedure in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: The Sauvé-Kapandji procedure is a common surgical procedure for rheumatoid wrist, which involves fixing dissected ulnar head to the distal radius in order to provide "bony support" to the carpus. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the position of the fixed ulnar head was associated with postsurgical carpus translocation.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed radiographs of 40 patients who underwent the Sauvé-Kapandji procedure and were subsequently followed up for over two years.

Whole-body counter surveys of over 2700 babies and small children in and around Fukushima Prefecture 33 to 49 months after the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident.

BABYSCAN, a whole-body counter (WBC) for small children was developed in 2013, and units have been installed at three hospitals in Fukushima Prefecture. Between December, 2013 and March, 2015, 2707 children between the ages of 0 and 11 have been scanned, and none had detectable levels of radioactive cesium. The minimum detectable activities (MDAs) for (137)Cs were ≤ 3.

Modified metacarpal shortening osteotomy of the midcarpal bone for preserving metacarpophalangeal joints in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Recent advances in medication choices have strikingly improved the management of rheumatoid arthritis. However, medication alone cannot place back already deformed joints. Thus, to prevent metacarpophalangeal (MP) joint destruction, joint deformity correction should be considered since mechanical stress induced by finger motions will eventually destruct the undestructed joint, with a possibility of recurrence and future implant arthroplasty in mind since RA still remains as a progressive disease.

Comparison of surgical treatments for triple extensor tendon ruptures in rheumatoid hands: A retrospective study of 48 cases.

Objective: This retrospective study was designed to evaluate the outcomes of four different surgical reconstructions for extensor tendon ruptures in ulnar three fingers in 48 patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Methods: The following four techniques were performed; palmaris longus tendon grafting (PL group; n = 9), extensor indicis proprius (EIP) tendon transfers (EIP group; n = 8), end-to-side transfers with tension-reduced early mobilization (End-to-side group; n = 16), and a combination of end-to-side and EIP transfers (Combination group; n = 15). Loss of extension was evaluated to determine the mean postoperative range of motion of the metacarpophalangeal (MP) joint and clinical outcomes were categorized using modified Geldmacher criteria.

Whole-body counter surveys of Miharu-town school children for four consecutive years after the Fukushima NPP accident.

Comprehensive whole-body counter surveys of Miharu-town school children have been conducted for four consecutive years, in 2011-2014. This represents the only long-term sampling-bias-free study of its type conducted after the Fukushima Dai-ichi accident. For the first time in 2014, a new device called the Babyscan, which has a low (134/137)Cs MDA of <50 Bq/body, was used to screen the children shorter than 130 cm.

The thyroid status of children and adolescents in Fukushima Prefecture examined during 20-30 months after the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster: a cross-sectional, observational study.

Background: A possible increase in thyroid cancer in the young represents the most critical health problem to be considered after the nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan (March 2011), which is an important lesson from the Chernobyl disaster (April 1986). Although it was reported that childhood thyroid cancer had started to increase 3-5 yr after the Chernobyl accident, we speculate that the actual period of latency might have been shorter than reported, considering the delay in initiating thyroid surveillance in the then Soviet Union and also the lower quality of ultrasonographic testing in the 1980s. Our primary objectives in the present study were to identify any possible thyroid abnormality in young Fukushima citizens at a relatively early timepoint (20-30 months) after the accident, and also to strive to find a possible relationship among thyroid ultrasonographic findings, thyroid-relevant biochemical markers, and iodine-131 ground deposition in the locations of residence where they stayed during very early days after the accident.

Validity and responsiveness of a self-administered foot evaluation questionnaire in rheumatoid arthritis.

Objectives: A self-administered foot evaluation questionnaire (SAFE-Q) was developed by the Japanese Society for Surgery of the Foot (JSSF). The aim of this study is to evaluate the validity and responsiveness of the SAFE-Q in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: In total, 180 patients with RA answered the SAFE-Q.

Reduction of high levels of internal radio-contamination by dietary intervention in residents of areas affected by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant disaster: a case series.

Maintaining low levels of chronic internal contamination among residents in radiation-contaminated areas after a nuclear disaster is a great public health concern. However, the efficacy of reduction measures for individual internal contamination remains unknown. To reduce high levels of internal radiation exposure in a group of individuals exposed through environmental sources, we performed careful dietary intervention with identification of suspected contaminated foods, as part of mass voluntary radiation contamination screenings and counseling program in Minamisoma Municipal General Hospital and Hirata Central Hospital.

Comprehensive whole-body counter surveys of Miharu-town school children for three consecutive years after the Fukushima NPP accident.

Comprehensive whole-body counter surveys covering over 93% of the school children between the ages of 6 and 15 in Miharu town, Fukushima Prefecture, have been conducted for three consecutive years, in 2011, 2012 and 2013. Although the results of a questionnaire indicate that approximately 60% of the children have been regularly eating local or home-grown rice, in 2012 and 2013 no child was found to exceed the (137)Cs detection limit of 300 Bq/body.

Recent trends in orthopedic surgery aiming to improve quality of life for those with rheumatoid arthritis: data from a large observational cohort.

Objective: To describe current trends in the numbers of rheumatoid arthritis (RA)-related surgeries.

Methods: The number of operations was determined for patients with RA in a large observational cohort [Institute of Rheumatology, Rheumatoid Arthritis (IORRA)] enrolled from 2001 to 2012.

Results: The total number of operations peaked in 2002 and gradually decreased thereafter, but began to increase again in 2008.

Number of ruptured tendons and surgical delay as prognostic factors for the surgical repair of extensor tendon ruptures in the rheumatoid wrist.

Objective: Extensor tendon ruptures in the rheumatoid wrist are usually restored by extensor tendon reconstruction surgery. However, the factors significantly correlated with the outcomes of extensor tendon reconstruction have not been defined. We examined factors showing a statistically significant correlation with postoperative active motion after tendon reconstruction.

Ununited fracture of the hook of hamate treated with low-intensity pulsed ultrasound in an older middle-aged patient.

A 63-year-old man presented with a complaint of left ulnar wrist pain after playing golf. Computed tomography was used to detect a fracture at the base of the hook of hamate. Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound without a splint for immobilization was started, and bone union was confirmed 12 months after the ultrasound treatment started.