Free vascularized fibular grafting for treatment of old femoral neck fractures

The internal fixation failure for treatment of femoral neck fracture is mainly due to improper fixation, loss of fixation stability and premature ambulation. Bone nonunion and avascular osteonecrosis of the femoral head caused by the internal fixation failure for femoral neck fracture are always the complex topics in orthopedics. With regard to patients who sustain these complications, total hip arthroplasty is a proper choice for elderly patients, but is not acceptable by young patients. We report nine patients with the failure of internal fixation for femoral neck fracture who were treated with free vascularized fibular grafting and internal fixation with cannulated screw from November 2001 to October 2003. All of them achieved good results.

Endosteal Fibular Strut Graft with Proximal Humeral Locking Plate in Delayed and Neglected Fractures of the Proximal Humerus

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to define a treatment protocol in which a non-vascularized endosteal fibular strut graft, a corticocancellous grafts and a locking plate construct are used for stabilization of the delayed and neglected proximal humerus fractures and to report its outcome. Patients & Methods: Eleven patients (6 females and 5 males) with delayed, neglected proximal humerus fractures were included in this study, conducted between March 2015 and December 2019. Average age of the patients was 57 years (range: 41 to 67 yrs). All patients were treated with the debridement, decortication and shingling of the bone at the site of the fracture followed by using an endosteal fibular strut graft, corticocancellous bone grafts and stabilization with locking plate. The patients were followed up for a mean time of 16.3 months (range: 13 to 40 months). The patient outcomes were evaluated using the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand Questionnaire, and the modified scoring system of Constant and Murley. Results: Union at the fracture site was achieved in all patients at a mean of 8.5 months (range: 6 to 11 months). The DASH score improved from an average pre-operative score of 71.1 (range: 64 to 78) to an average post-operative score of 25.2 (range: 21 to 35) at the final follow-up. Albeit with a small sample size of n = 11, this difference was found to be statistically significant (p < 0.05). The CM score improved from an average pre-operative score of 33.2 (range: 20 to 48) to an average post-operative score of 66.8 (range: 59 to 72) at the final follow-up. This difference was also found to be statistically significant in this patient cohort (p < 0.05). The results were excellent in 3 patients, good in 6 and moderate in 2. Conclusions: An endosteal fibular strut, subperiosteally placed cortico-cancellous grafts with a locking plate fixation helps in biological healing of neglected fractures of proximal humerus.

TREATMENT OF ISCHEMIC NECROSIS OF FEMORAL HEAD BY THE FREE TRANSFERRING FIBULAR BONE GRAFT WITH VASCULAR PEDICLE IN ADULTS: A REPORT ON 95 CASES

cases (97 hips) with avascular necrosis of femoral head caused by variors factors treated by the free transferring fibular graft with vascular pedicle in the Second Teaching Hospital of Xi'an Medical University are reported. All patients have ben followed up for 2 to 11 years. Excellent and good rate of operative results was 86. 6%. A long observation indicated that this procedure was superior to the other operations for the osteonecrosis of femoral head. Successful interim and final operative results can warrant its continued use in management of this kind of patients.

Resection with limb salvage in an Asian male adolescent withEwing’s sarcoma: A case report

BACKGROUNDEwing’s sarcoma is a highly malignant primary bone tumor that commonly affectschildren. For young patients, multidisciplinary treatment and limb salvage arerecommended, and surgical plans considering the growth potential and boneactivity after tumor resection are essential.CASE SUMMARYAn 11-year-old Asian boy had a 1-mo history of a right-sided limping gait.Imaging revealed a proximal tumor with bone destruction and physealinvolvement over the right femoral neck. He was diagnosed with stage IV(T1N0M1aG3) Ewing’s sarcoma with bilateral lung metastases. Neoadjuvantchemotherapy decreased the tumor size and confined it to the metaphysealregion. The patient underwent four stages of surgery: wide tumor excision plusreconstruction with vascular fibular bone graft plus internal fixation;repeat openreduction and internal fixation;femoral lengthening with orthosis after physealmaturity;and orthosis removal and bone elongation (approximately 6 cm).Following surgery, he could walk without discomfort and had almost equal-sizedbilateral femoral heads, indicating physis preservation. The surgery wassuccessful, and normal femoral head growth was achieved after completeremission. The patient was able to resume normal activities with equal length ofthe bilateral lower limbs.CONCLUSIONTumor treatment and reconstruction following resection are important in skeletally immature patients with Ewing’s sarcoma to improve quality of life.

A two-stage but time-saving reconstructive scheme to treat severe lower limb length discrepancy:Two case reports

Limb length discrepancy(LLD)is a common orthopedic condition that can result in significant functional impairment,pain,and cosmetic deformities.Current reconstructive techniques for severe LLD are primarily based on callus distraction,which is a time-consuming process that can lead to complications,such as significant infection,joint stiffness,and stress fractures.To reduce the therapeutic time and minimize the risk of complications,we investigated the use of vascularized bone flaps as a technical supplement to callus distraction in the reconstruction of short limbs.We present two cases of severe LLD in the upper and lower legs,in which a twostage reconstruction approach was used.In the first stage,external fixation was applied to the affected limb to correct the soft tissue length and convert the short deformity into a bone defect.In the second stage,the bone defect was reconstructed using bilateral(patient A)or unilateral(patient B)free vascularized fibula bone grafts.Both patients had complete survival of the fibular grafts without stress fractures,and bone consolidation took 8 months(patient A)and 4 months(patient B).Compared to the traditional callus distraction,the two-stage approach was found to be more time-saving and reliable.The entire reconstructive scheme required 18 and 4 months for patients A and B,respectively,whereas the traditional callus distraction required 41 and 17 months,respectively.These findings suggest that the use of vascularized bone flaps as a technical supplement for callus distraction may provide an effective and efficient alternative for the treatment of severe LLD.Further studies are needed to validate these results and assess the long-term outcomes of this approach.