No abstract

We report a case of a 7-month-old girl who presented with 2 months history of redness and swelling syndromes around the left ankle. The local hospital diagnosis of left ankle soft tissue infection and gave antibiotic treatment. However, her symptoms were failed respond to the antibiotic treatment and suggested to transfer to our hospital. We gave this girl a detailed physical examination, when opening the ankle crease a hidden rubber band was found and the surrounding soft tissues were lacerated. As a result, the child was taken to surgery to remove the band and repair the lacerated structures and her postoperative recovery was well. A rubber band worn for decorative purpose or accidently by the child is sometimes missed by the parents and remains long unnoticed. For the clinical features of a linear constricting scar around the wrist or ankle in the presence of a swollen syndrome, it should always alert the clinician to the possibility of a forgotten band around the joints. This appears to be the first case of acquired rubber band syndrome reported occurred on children's ankle.

Background Congenital pseudarthrosis of the tibia (CPT) is a rare disease occurring in children. The aim of this study is to identify the factors affecting bone union and re-fracture after surgery for CPT and to provide reliable evidence for clinics. Methods We collected the detailed information of 255 cases with Crawford IV CPT treated by combined surgery in our hospital from 2013 to 2020. Basic characteristics were recorded. Univariate variance and logistic regression analysis were used to compare the correlations between factors and outcomes. Results 92.5% of patients achieved primary union, 7.5% of patients had non-union and 13.3% of patients had re-fracture. Logistic regression analysis showed that age at index surgery (Coef. = 0.171, 95%CI 0.015–0.327, P = 0.032), and CPT location (Coef. = − 1.337, 95%CI − 2.218–0.456, P = 0.003) had statistical differences, while no factors had significant correlation with re-fracture. Furthermore, ROC curve showed that the optimal age threshold for first surgery was 2.37 years old. Conclusions For patients with Crawford IV CPT treated by combined surgery, the younger the age at index surgery and the closer the CPT location to the distal end, the easier to achieve bone union.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the initial efficacy of a new telescopic rod in the treatment of congenital pseudarthrosis of tibia (CPT) in children. A new type of telescopic rod for children was designed and its clinical results were evaluated. There were nine cases of CPT on the right and six cases on the left; there were six females and nine males. The average age at operation was 35.5 months. There were 12 cases with neurofibromatosis type 1 and 4 cases with proximal tibial dysplasia. The initial healing of tibial pseudarthrosis, proximal tibial valgus deformity, tibial length, ankle valgus, ankle function, and intramedullary rod displacement were evaluated during follow-up. All 15 cases were followed up for an average of 18.2 months, 14 cases achieved initial healing, with an average healing time of 4.3 months. Ten cases had unequal lengths of the tibia, with an average of 0.9 cm. Proximal tibial valgus occurred in seven cases and ankle valgus occurred in one child. The average range of motion of the ankle joint was 23° and the average plantar flexion was 42°. The average extension of the new telescopic rod was 1.6 cm. The displacement of the telescopic rod occurred in seven cases, there was no epiphyseal plate tethering and re-fracture. The new children's telescopic rod has a reasonable design and can extend with the growth of tibia. There are no complications of epiphyseal plate tethering and re-fracture. It provides a new choice of intramedullary fixation for the treatment of CPT.