Christine M. Kleinert Institute

The superficial location of the extensor tendons makes them particularly vulnerable to lacerations. Patients most commonly present to the emergency department (ED) after these injuries. We aimed to measure the safety of immediate surgical repair of traumatic open extensor tendon injuries in an ED minor procedure room (MPR) under local anesthesia, and the associated post-operative infection and complication rates. We retrospectively evaluated all patients undergoing traumatic open extensor tendon repairs in the ED MPR over a 3.75-years period. Data collected included demographic information, comorbidities, mechanism of injury, additional procedures performed, and post-operative complications. All patients were operated under local anesthesia by a hand surgery fellow aided by an ED technician. Two hundred and forty eight patients (278 tendons) were treated for extensor tendon injuries during the study period. 220 patients (245 tendons) have complied with follow-up. No intra-procedural medical complications were encountered. The post-operative infection rate was 1.4%. The rate of other post-operative complications was not related to the number of tendons repaired, additional digit involvement, or if the nature of the injury was work-related. In this cohort, traumatic extensor tendon repairs performed in an ED MPR were found to be medically safe and to associate with a low postoperative infection rate. As preoperative assessment is simple and practical, and limited medical personnel is utilized, this surgical setting may enable us to reduce medical costs.

The choice of a specific technique for surgical treatment of neuromas remains a problem. The purpose of this study is to determine the overall effectiveness of surgery as well as to find out whether certain surgical procedures are more effective than others. Twenty-nine patients operated between 1998 and 2018 and followed for at least 12 months were reviewed. Clinical assessment included the identification of a pre- and postoperative Tinel sign, pain visual analog score, two-point discrimination (2PD), and grip strength. Mechanisms of injury included clean lacerations (11), crush injuries (11), and other trauma or surgery (7). Mean time from presentation to surgery was 9 months. Seven surgical procedures involving excision in 10 patients and excision and nerve repair in 19 patients were performed. Pain score improved from an average of 7.1 ± 2.3 to 1.8 ± 1.7 with 27 patients (93%) reporting mild or no postoperative pain. Nine patients complained of residual scar hypersensitivity and six patients had residual positive Tinel. No patient required an additional surgical procedure. 2PD improved from an average of 9.6 ± 4.0 to 6.8 ± 1.0. The improvement of pain score and 2PD was statistically significant. Nerve repair resulted in marginally better outcomes, in terms of 2PD and grip strength recovery, than excision alone. The mechanism of injury, zone of involvement, time to intervention, or length of follow-up did not have an impact on the outcomes. Although patient numbers in this study are large in comparison to previous studies, larger patient numbers will allow for a multivariate analysis, which can be possible with a prospective multicenter trial.

IntroductionPyogenic flexor tenosynovitis (PFT) is a common hand infection that can cause significant morbidity. Although treatment involves surgical debridement and inpatient intravenous (IV) antibiotics, there is a paucity of literature guiding antibiotic use. This study aims to determine if the use of postoperative outpatient oral antibiotics leads to poor outcomes compared to IV antibiotics given in an institutional setting.MethodsA retrospective review of 110 patients treated post-operatively with either outpatient oral or inpatient IV antibiotics at our institution from 2016-2019 was performed. All patients underwent surgical debridement. Primary outcomes analyzed included readmission, repeat surgery, and amputation. Clinical parameters including age, diabetes, smoking, duration of symptoms, involvement of surrounding structures (felon, dorsal abscess, osteomyelitis, septic arthritis), culture growth, Michon classification, and duration of antibiotics were analyzed as possible risk factors for poor outcome. The level of evidence of this study is Level 3 Retrospective Cohort Study.ResultsSeventy-five patients were treated with outpatient oral antibiotics and 35 patients were treated with inpatient IV antibiotics. The oral antibiotics group received antibiotics for 13.1 +/- 9.9 days compared to 18.1 +/-10.4 days in the IV antibiotic group. Patients in the oral antibiotic group had a significantly shorter length of hospitalization at 0.6 +/-1.8 days compared to 3.6 +/-1.8 days in the IV antibiotic group. The readmission rate for the oral antibiotic group was 10.7% compared to 5.7% in the IV antibiotic group. This difference was not statistically significant except in patients who had involvement in surrounding structures. There was no significant difference in repeat surgeries or amputations between the groups.ConclusionsThe use of outpatient oral antibiotics after surgical debridement for PFT does not significantly increase rates of readmission, repeat surgery, or amputation, except in cases with the involvement of surrounding structures. On subgroup analysis, anaerobic infection and diabetes were significantly associated with amputations. Post-operative oral antibiotics and immediate discharge may be considered for PFT after adequate surgical debridement with close outpatient follow-up in the absence of surrounding structure involvement and diabetes.

Avascular necrosis (AVN) of the capitate bone is a rare condition and it can be related to major trauma or idiopathy. Different treatments are available including soft tissue interposition and intercarpal arthrodesis including lunocapitate, scaphocapitate, four corner, and carpometacarpal fusions. Other surgical options are resection of the proximal pole and revascularization procedures. The main purpose of this article is to present two cases of AVN of the capitate treated with a revascularization procedure using the 4th-5th extensor compartment artery (4th-5th ECA). Two female patients with capitate AVN are reported with an average age of 30.5 years. Both cases were classified as type-I according to Milliez classification. The major complaint in each case was wrist pain that increased during activity. In both cases there was no history of trauma, smoking, diabetes, or hematologic diseases. Both patients had a diminished range of motion, grip, and strength. The definitive diagnosis was made with magnetic resonance imaging. Both patients underwent treatment revascularization of the capitate using a vascularized bone graft based on the 4th-5th ECA. At average follow-up of 12 months, each patient had improved with regards to pain and had increased grip strength. The literature does not describe a specific algorithm treatment for capitate AVN. We recommend revascularization of the capitate using the 4th-5th ECA in type-I Milliez classification in young patients without signs of carpal collapse.

Although fingertip and nail bed injuries have a high incidence, appropriate management of nail bed injuries remains controversial. This study is the completion of data derived from nail bed injuries with follow-up of a minimum of 6 months to suggest an appropriate treatment. In the retrospective study, we analyzed data from 549 nail bed injuries for 6 years and age, type of injury, fractures, treatment methods, and outcomes were reviewed. Results were determined and these were divided to identical to the opposite group, abnormalities based on Zook criteria. Statistical analysis was done according to injury category (type, site, nail substitute, and fracture) and overall final grade. Over 50% (293 cases) had excellent results. Rates of very good, good, fair, and poor results were 22.6%, 11.3%, 6.2%, and 6.6%, respectively. Poorer results were obtained for fold injuries, crush, and avulsive injuries. The presence of a fracture was associated with poor results. The cause of poor results is thought to be multifactorial. Although, overall outcomes were good, nail splitting, nail roughness, and nail adherence can cause dirtiness, catching, bending, and various cosmetic problems. Thus, careful suture and replacement of nail to nail fold are important to reach good results.

The use of the medial femoral condyle free flap is a versatile option for the treatment of upper extremity non unions and reconstructive procedures associated with bone loss or osteonecrosis. The benefit of this type of flap is the viability of the bone which favors primary ossification and increases bone density. Vascularized free bone flaps are especially useful for the treatment of recalcitrant nonunions, or nonunions that have failed three or more treatments to obtain consolidation. We present a case series of three patients treated with medial femoral condyle free flap for reconstruction of the upper extremity of different etiologies at the level of the distal humerus, distal radius and distal phalanx of the thumb.