Faculty Bibliography

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of external fixation and percutaneous pinning in maintaining distal radius fracture reduction over a 6-month period and to identify factors that might predict loss of fracture reduction. METHODS: Seventy cases had complete radiographic evaluation before surgery; at surgery; and at 6-week, 3-month, and 6-month follow-up. Radiographic parameters measured included volar tilt, dorsal displacement, radial inclination, radial height, radial shift, and ulnar variance. RESULTS: Dorsal tilt averaged 17.5 degrees from neutral before surgery; this value was corrected to 0.9 degree at surgery, but then progressed to 4.2 degrees by the 6-month follow-up. At 6-month follow-up, 49% of cases had lost more than 5 degrees of initially reduced volar tilt. However, none of these patients went from an acceptable initial reduction to an unacceptable reduction at 6 months. Initial deformity, patient age, use of bone graft, and duration of external fixation were not predictors of loss of reduction. CONCLUSION: Loss of reduction of volar tilt was seen for a period of up to 6 months after fixation, despite the use of pinning to hold the reduction. No specific predictor of loss of reduction was noted, although there was a trend toward loss of reduction in younger patients

In this article, we briefly mention the personal, social, and economic costs of gunshot injuries; describe the science of ballistics and how differences in ballistics affect gunshot wounds and their treatment; and review the general principles involved in managing gunshot injuries. We will summarize the strategies for treating adults with gunshot injuries to specific regions of the lower extremities--the hip, the femur, the knee, the tibia, and the foot