No abstract

In 1980, we developed a specially designed brace for treating supracondylar fractures of the humerus in children, along with an easy and safe technique of reduction by skeletal traction. This method, which takes into consideration only the medial tilting and anterior angulation of the distal fragment, achieves complete reduction, ignoring any lateral, posterior and minor rotational displacements of the fragment. Skeletal traction is applied through a screw inserted into the olecranon and the angulation at the fracture site is reduced regardless of the anatomical position without manipulation. We treated 193 children with displaced supracondylar fractures of the humerus using this method between 1980 and 2001. Only four children (2%) developed cubitus varus. The majority obtained an excellent range of movement at the elbow; one had a 25 degree limitation of flexion. This technique is an effective and easy method of treating supracondylar fractures of the humerus in children.

Background: The frequency of the complications following total hip arthroplasty (THA) using the two-incision technique is well documented. However, few reports have analyzed the preoperative patient-related factors associated with the complications. The purpose of this study was to estimate the incidence of early complications following primary twoincision THA and to define the risk factors associated with perioperative complications. Materials and Methods: The subjects of this retrospective study were 1218 consecutive patients who underwent primary two-incision THA. The incidence of hip dislocation, stem subsidence, intraoperative femoral fracture, and nontraumatic postoperative femoral fracture was evaluated. The association between complications and preoperative patient-related factors, including gender, obesity, Crowe classification, age, body mass index (BMI), and morphological parameters of the proximal femoral medullary cavity, were investigated. Results: The incidences of complications were dislocation (1.1%), stem subsidence (0.9%), intraoperative femoral fracture (1.2%), and postoperative femoral fracture (0.7%). Obesity (BMI > 30) influenced the occurrences of stem subsidence and postoperative femoral fractures (p ¼ 0.0001, p ¼ 0.019). Crowe classification significantly correlated with intraoperative femoral fractures (Grade II: odds ratio (OR) 4.63, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.32-15.6; Grade III and IV: OR 8.96, 95% CI, 2.2-34.94). Additionally, the outer diameter of the femur 10 cm below the lesser trochanter tended to be small in patients who developed a femoral fracture. Conclusions: The early complication rate was comparable to other methods used in uncemented THA. It is necessary for patients with risk factors revealed in this study to pay careful attention or consider other surgical approaches to avoid complications. Further studies considering femur morphology are required.