Objectives:
To analyze the clinical and radiological outcomes of a series of patients treated with a pedicled vascularized bone graft (VBG) of the distal radius for the treatment of recalcitrant atrophic nonunions of the distal humerus.
Design:
Retrospective clinical study.
Setting:
University-affiliated teaching hospital.
Patients:
Fifteen patients with supracondylar humeral atrophic nonunions with at least 3 previous failed surgical interventions were included.
Intervention:
Debridement of the distal humerus nonunion through a posterior elbow approach with provisional fixation was performed. Then, a pedicled VBG was harvested from the distal radius and tunneled back into the humeral bone defect. Iliac crest was used as needed, both for the nonunion and to stabilize the radius. Finally, definitive fixation with 2 locked plates was performed.
Main Outcome Measurements:
Radiological results, complications, elbow range of motion, Mayo elbow performance score, and subjective pain were evaluated.
Results:
There were 4 male and 11 female patients, with a mean age of 51 (range, 28–73) years. The mean follow-up period was 46 (range, 37–72) months with a minimum of 3 years. Radiological consolidation was achieved in all patients. Elbow range of motion was >100 degrees in 11 patients and between 50 and 100 degrees in 4 patients. Preoperative Mayo scores were poor in all patients. At final follow-up, Mayo scores were excellent in 3, good in 9, and fair in 3 patients. The mean postoperative visual analog scale score was 1.2 (range 0–3).
Conclusions:
Pedicled VBG of the distal radius was shown to be a reliable and effective alternative for the treatment of recalcitrant atrophic nonunions of the distal humerus, when other methods have failed.
Level of Evidence:
Therapeutic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Resumen
Introducción: El osteoma osteoide de falange es un cuadro infrecuente. El objetivo de este artículo es presentar cinco pacientes con diagnóstico histopatológico de osteoma osteoide de falange y resaltar los aspectos más relevantes del diagnóstico y el tratamiento. Materiales y Métodos: Estudio descriptivo, retrospectivo. Se evaluaron el dolor, según la escala analógica visual, la movilidad activa y el puntaje QuickDASH antes de la cirugía y en el control final a los 35.4 meses. Resultados: El tiempo medio desde la primera consulta hasta el diagnóstico fue de 10.6 meses (rango 5-16). El puntaje QuickDASH medio preoperatorio fue de 22,72 (rango 6,8-40,9). Luego del seguimiento medio de 35.4 meses (rango 17-63), todos los pacientes estaban satisfechos con el resultado. El puntaje medio de dolor fue 0. El puntaje QuickDASH medio fue 0. Conclusiones: El osteoma osteoide debe pensarse como diagnóstico diferencial ante un paciente que consulta por dolor digital subagudo o crónico que cede con antinflamatorios no esteroides. El tratamiento quirúrgico mediante el curetaje simple o la resección en bloque logra resultados satisfactorios. Sin embargo, como su prevalencia es baja, se suele pasar por alto y así se retrasan el diagnóstico y el tratamiento.
Palabras clave: Osteoma osteoide; falange; dedo; dolor crónico; tumefacción.
Nivel de Evidencia: IV
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