1/116. Post-traumatic distal nerve entrapment syndrome.Eleven patients with paralysis of muscle groups in the upper or lower extremity were clinically diagnosed after previous proximal direct trauma to the corresponding peripheral nerves, without complete nerve disruption. patients were seen within an average of 8 months after trauma (minimum 3 months and maximum 2 years after). Nerve lesions were caused either by gunshot, motor-vehicle accident, and other direct trauma or, in one case, after tumor excision. All patients presented with complete sensory and motor loss distal to the trauma site, but demonstrated a positive Tinel sign and pain on testing over the "classic" (distal) anatomic nerve entrapment sites only. After surgical release through decompression of the nerve compression site distal to the trauma, a recovery of sensory function was achieved after surgery in all cases. Good-to-excellent restoration of motor function (M4/M5) was achieved in 63 percent of all cases. Twenty-five percent had no or only poor improvement in motor function, despite a good sensory recovery. Those patients in whom nerve compression sites were surgically released before 6 months after trauma had an improvement in almost all neural functions, compared to those patients who underwent surgery later than 9 months post trauma. A possible explanation of traumatically caused neurogenic paralysis with subsequent distal nerve compressions is provided, using the "double crush syndrome" hypothesis.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = muscle (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/116. Muscle hernias of the lower leg: MRI findings.Muscle hernias of the lower leg involving the tibialis anterior, peroneus brevis, and lateral head of the gastrocnemius were found in three different patients. MRI findings allowed recognition of herniated muscle in all cases and identification of fascial defect in two of them. MR imaging findings and the value of dynamic MR imaging is emphasized.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = muscle (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/116. Amputated lower limbs as a bank of organs for other organ salvage.Aggressive modern technologies have made it possible to attempt limb salvage in even the most extreme cases. However, it is imperative to remember that prolonged salvage attempts may lead to devastating complications. The decision-making is more problematic in patients with bilateral severely injured mangled lower limbs. In such a case, protocols like the MESS are no longer valid because of the implications of bilateral amputation. In these rare cases, we use a multi-team approach and modern micro-surgical reconstructive techniques in attempting to salvage at least one of the lower limbs. We present here our experience in six patients with bilateral mangled lower limbs where an amputated limb was the source of "spare parts" for the salvage of the contralateral limb. In each of the cases, after evaluation and planning, the harvesting of the required tissues (including skin, muscle, bone, nerve and blood vessels) from the amputated leg was performed and simultaneously, a reconstruction of the contralateral severely injured limb was done. These cases emphasize the importance of modern trauma care, not only the ability to treat multiply traumatized patients, but also the capability to execute sophisticated techniques during the acute phase of treatment with maximal cooperation between teams from different disciplines.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = muscle (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/116. Variants in the deep circumflex iliac artery: clinical considerations in raising iliac osteocutaneous free flaps.Anomalies of the deep circumflex iliac artery do occur, although they are uncommon. Recently, two cases of these anomalies were encountered by the authors during elevation of iliac osteocutaneous free flaps. In the first case, the deep circumflex iliac artery was absent, and the nourishing artery of the flap was instead connected to the large iliolumbar artery. In the second case, the ascending branch, deriving from the deep circumflex iliac artery as usual, had a separate takeoff directly from the external iliac artery, and provided blood supply to the overlying skin as a musculocutaneous perforator that transversed the three muscle layers of the abdominal wall. This ascending branch was assumed to be a duplication of the deep circumflex iliac artery. Ascertaining the divergence of the deep circumflex iliac artery from the external iliac artery before beginning to raise the flap, and careful dissection of the artery, are essential for minimizing problems in flap transfer.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = muscle (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/116. Free flap to the arteria peronea magna for lower limb salvage.A 36-year-old woman sustained an amputation of her right leg at the thigh level and a degloving injury of her left foot and ankle region in an accident during a suicide attempt. Primarily, her left foot was covered with a split skin graft, resulting in a soft-tissue defect at the medial malleolus and at the calcaneus bone. Reconstruction was planned with a free latissimus dorsi muscle flap. Preoperative examinations revealed an arteria peronea magna with a hyperplastic peroneal artery solely providing arterial blood supply to the foot. The arteria peronea magna divided into two branches proximal to the upper ankle joint, replacing the dorsal pedis artery and the medial plantar artery. Tibial posterior and tibial anterior arteries were hypoplastic-aplastic. Microvascular end-to-end anastomoses of the flap vessels to the medial branch ("medial plantar artery") of the arteria peronea magna and its concomitant vein at the medial malleolar bone level were successfully performed. The postoperative course was uneventful. Four weeks postoperatively, the patient started walking assisted by a prosthesis on her right thigh stump. This experience demonstrates that even in a case of arteria peronea magna, free flap surgery for lower limb salvage is a reliable and worthwhile method.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = muscle (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/116. Widely split latissimus dorsi muscle flaps for reconstruction of long soft-tissue defects in lower extremities.Although the latissimus dorsi is one of the largest and longest muscles in the human body, it is still sometimes inadequate for reconstruction of a soft-tissue defect of extensive length and dimension. Eight patients with such lower limb defects were treated with latissimus dorsi muscles split into two hemiflaps sequentially linked, one after the other like a chain. Six transfers were completely successful, one required reexploration for arterial occlusion, and two hemiflaps had a partial loss that could be managed by touching up the skin graft. The average split sequential-link muscle was 42 cm in length. Although two patients had a partial loss, we consider that the widely split single latissimus dorsi muscle can still be used reliably to reconstruct a long slender defect, or two separate, longitudinally located, medium-sized defects in the same leg.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 8keywords = muscle (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/116. Complete rupture of the distal semimembranosus tendon with secondary hamstring muscles atrophy: MR findings in two cases.Complete rupture of the hamstring muscles is a rare injury. The proximal musculo-tendinous junction is the most frequent site of rupture. We present two cases of complete rupture of the distal semimembranosus tendon, which clinically presented as soft-tissue masses. MR imaging permitted the correct diagnosis. There has been only one other such case reported.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 5keywords = muscle (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/116. Free transfer of expanded parascapular, latissimus dorsi, and expander "capsule" flap for coverage of large lower-extremity soft-tissue defect.The coverage of large soft-tissue defects usually requires a large flap transfer, especially in a combination and expanded form. However, some large soft-tissue defects still cannot be covered by such flaps. In this article, we present a case of a civil war injury in a patient from afghanistan who had severe trauma to the right knee, lower thigh, and upper leg and a marked soft-tissue defect. This large soft-tissue defect was covered with a large combined free flap of the expanded parascapular and latissimus dorsi muscle, including a large retrograde hinge flap of the tissue expander capsule and a complementary skin graft. The defect was covered completely, and the final result was excellent.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = muscle (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/116. The distally based superficial sural flap: our experience in reconstructing the lower leg and foot.The treatment of soft-tissue defects of the lower third of the leg and foot is often an awkward problem to tackle because of the frequent involvement of muscle, tendon, and bone, which is caused by the thinness and poor circulation of the skin covering them and by the small quantity of local tissue available for reconstruction. The authors present their experience with the use of sural flaps for the treatment of small- and medium-size defects of the distal region of the lower limb. The flap used was a distally based fasciocutaneous flap raised in the posterior region of the lower two thirds of the leg. Vascularization was ensured by the superficial sural artery, which accompanies the sural nerve together with the short saphenous vein. The authors treated 18 patients (12 men and 6 women) from May 1997 to August 1999 at the Division of Plastic Surgery, University of Turin, italy. Superficial necrosis without involvement of the deep fascia (which was grafted 1 month later) occurred in 1 patient of the 18 treated. In another 2 patients, defects were found in the flap margins, but no additional surgical revision was necessary, and recovery occurred by secondary intention. In every patient the sural flaps provided good coverage of the defects, both from a functional and an aesthetic point of view. The major advantages of this flap are its easy and quick dissection. Because the major arterial axis is not sacrificed, this flap can be used in a traumatic leg with damaged major arteries.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = muscle (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/116. Pathologic features of fatal shark attacks.To examine the pattern of injuries in cases of fatal shark attack in South Australian waters, the authors examined the files of their institution for all cases of shark attack in which full autopsies had been performed over the past 25 years, from 1974 to 1998. Of the seven deaths attributed to shark attack during this period, full autopsies were performed in only two cases. In the remaining five cases, bodies either had not been found or were incomplete. Case 1 was a 27-year-old male surfer who had been attacked by a shark. At autopsy, the main areas of injury involved the right thigh, which displayed characteristic teeth marks, extensive soft tissue damage, and incision of the femoral artery. There were also incised wounds of the right wrist. Bony injury was minimal, and no shark teeth were recovered. Case 2 was a 26-year-old male diver who had been attacked by a shark. At autopsy, the main areas of injury involved the left thigh and lower leg, which displayed characteristic teeth marks, extensive soft tissue damage, and incised wounds of the femoral artery and vein. There was also soft tissue trauma to the left wrist, with transection of the radial artery and vein. Bony injury was minimal, and no shark teeth were recovered. In both cases, death resulted from exsanguination following a similar pattern of soft tissue and vascular damage to a leg and arm. This type of injury is in keeping with predator attack from underneath or behind, with the most severe injuries involving one leg. Less severe injuries to the arms may have occurred during the ensuing struggle. Reconstruction of the damaged limb in case 2 by sewing together skin, soft tissue, and muscle bundles not only revealed that no soft tissue was missing but also gave a clearer picture of the pattern of teeth marks, direction of the attack, and species of predator.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = muscle (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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