Faculty Bibliography

BACKGROUND: Restoration of shoulder external rotation is very important for upper extremity function. The purpose of this study was to present the authors' experience with secondary restoration of external rotation in patients with obstetrical brachial plexus palsy. METHODS: From 1978 to 2002, 46 children underwent secondary surgery for restoration of external rotation. Outcomes were analyzed in relation to various factors, including the type of procedure, muscle transfer only versus nerve reconstruction and muscle transfer, denervation time, type of injury (Erb versus global palsy), and severity score. In addition, the effect of restoration of external rotation on the final outcome of shoulder abduction was assessed. RESULTS: There was significant improvement in every case (p < 0.01) between preoperatively and postoperatively. The overall mean postoperative Mallet score for the group undergoing muscle transfer only was 3.95, whereas in the nerve reconstruction and muscle transfer group, the score was 3.88 (p >0.05). The resulting gain in external rotation was 99 degrees versus 93.8 degrees. In both populations, a very significant improvement (p <0.0001) was identified in the final outcome of shoulder abduction (109 degrees after muscle transfer versus 48.3 degrees before muscle transfer, and 112 degrees postoperatively after neurotization and muscle transfer versus 43.8 degrees before any surgery). Patients with Erb palsy had a better but not significant result (p >0.05; p = 0.94), compared with those with global palsy in both Mallet score (3.77 versus 3.76) and final active external rotation (81.7 degrees versus 77.6 degrees). CONCLUSION: Secondary surgery for the restoration of external rotation is a rewarding procedure, which also significantly improves the final outcome of shoulder abduction

BACKGROUND: Patients with Apert, Crouzon, and Pfeiffer syndromes who have severe midfacial hypoplasia are treated by Le Fort III midface advancement. The purpose of this study was to examine long-term (10-year) midface skeletal stability and growth following Le Fort III midface advancement in growing children. METHODS: A review of 192 patients with syndromic craniosynostosis treated by classic (nondistracted) Le Fort III advancement osteotomy between 1973 and 1998 was performed. Twenty-five patients met the inclusion criteria (age at surgery < 11 years and availability of cephalograms of diagnostic quality before treatment, after surgery, and at 1-, 5-, and 10-year follow-up). The mean age at the time of surgery was 5.8 years and the diagnosis was either Crouzon (n = 10), Apert (n = 9), or Pfeiffer (n = 6) syndrome. RESULTS: After surgery, point A advanced sagittally 10.72 mm and moved downward 3.77 mm. At 1 year, point A moved forward 0.10 mm and downward 0.47 mm. At 5 years, point A moved back 0.18 mm, whereas at 10 years it advanced 0.12 mm. During the same periods, however, pogonion came forward 5.72 mm and 7.32 mm, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Le Fort III midface advancement in growing children with syndromic craniosynostosis is stable after the first year postoperatively. There is minimal horizontal growth of the midface between postoperative years 5 and 10, although the mandible continues to grow. Due to the differential growth rate of the midface and mandible, the facial profile becomes concave, thereby necessitating secondary midface surgery at the completion of skeletal growth

BACKGROUND:: The purpose of this study was to compare clinical outcomes and 1-year postsurgical stability with three different techniques of Le Fort III midface advancement. METHODS:: The records of 212 syndromic craniosynostosis patients were reviewed from the period 1973 to 2006. A total of 60 patients satisfied the inclusion criteria, and the mean age of the sample at surgery was 6.2 years. In group I (1977 to 1987), fixation was performed by interosseous wiring and intermaxillary fixation; in group II (1987 to 1996), fixation was achieved by only rigid plate fixation; and in group III (2000 to 2005), the patients underwent midface distraction with the rigid external distraction device. Cephalometric landmarks were identified and digitized at each of the time intervals (preoperatively, postoperatively, and 1 year postoperatively). RESULTS:: The mean advancement measured at point A in group I averaged 9.7 mm; in group II, it was 10.6 mm; and in group 3, it was 16.1 mm. There was no statistically significant difference in the amount of advancement between groups I and II. However, when groups I and II were compared with group III, there was a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05). No statistical significance was noted within and between all three groups at 1-year follow-up. CONCLUSIONS:: Significantly larger midface advancement was achieved with rigid external distraction (group III) compared with classic Le Fort III midface advancement with wire (group I) or plate (group III) fixation. At 1 year after surgery, the three groups showed relative stability of the advanced midface segment

ABSTRACT Purpose: Chipping within veneering porcelain has resulted in high clinical failure rates for implant-supported zirconia (yttria-tetragonal zirconia polycrystals [Y-TZP]) bridges. This study evaluated the reliability and failure modes of mouth-motion step-stress fatigued implant-supported Y-TZP versus palladium-silver alloy (PdAg) three-unit bridges. Materials and Methods: Implant-abutment replicas were embedded in polymethylmethacrylate resin. Y-TZP and PdAg frameworks, of similar design (n = 21 each), were fabricated, veneered, cemented (n = 3 each), and Hertzian contact-tested to obtain ultimate failure load. In each framework group, 18 specimens were distributed across three step-stress profiles and mouth-motion cyclically loaded according to the profile on the lingual slope of the buccal cusp of the pontic. Results: PdAg failures included competing flexural cracking at abutment and/or connector area and chipping, whereas Y-TZP presented predominantly cohesive failure within veneering porcelain. Including all failure modes, the reliability (two-sided at 90% confidence intervals) for a 'mission' of 50,000 and 100,000 cycles at 300 N load was determined (Alta Pro, Reliasoft, Tucson, AZ, USA). No difference in reliability was observed between groups for a mission of 50,000. Reliability remained unchanged for a mission of 100,000 for PdAg, but significantly decreased for Y-TZP. Conclusions: Higher reliability was found for PdAg for a mission of 100,000 cycles at 300 N. Failure modes differed between materials

The authors' experience with the supraclavicular approach for the treatment of patients with primary thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) and for patients with recurrent TOS or iatrogenic brachial plexus injury after prior transaxillary first rib resection is presented. The records of 33 patients (34 plexuses) with TOS who presented for evaluation and treatment were analyzed. Of these, 12 (35%) plexuses underwent surgical treatment, and 22 (65%) plexuses were managed non-operatively. The patients who were treated non-operatively and had an adequate follow-up (n = 11) were used as a control group. Of the 12 surgically treated patients, five patients underwent primary surgery; four patients had secondary surgery for recurrent TOS; and three patients had surgery for iatrogenic brachial plexus injury. All patients presented with severe pain, and most of them had neurologic symptoms. All nine (100%) patients who underwent primary surgery (n = 5) and secondary surgery for recurrent TOS (n = 4) demonstrated excellent or good results. On the other hand, six (54%) of the 11 patients from the control group had some benefit from the non-operative treatment. Reoperation in three patients with iatrogenic brachial plexus injury resulted in good result in one case and in fair results in two patients; however, all patients were pain-free. No complications were encountered. Supraclavicular exploration of the brachial plexus enables precise assessment of the contents of the thoracic inlet area. It allows for safe identification and release of all abnormal anatomical structures and complete first rib resection with minimal risk to neurovascular structures. Additionally, this approach allows for the appropriate nerve reconstruction in cases of prior transaxillary iatrogenic plexus injury. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11552-009-9253-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

PURPOSE: To examine the acute morbidity of high dose head and neck RT and CRT in patients with infected with HIV. METHODS AND MATERIALS: All HIV-positive patients who underwent radiation therapy for head and neck cancer in our department between 2004 and 2008 were reviewed. Treatment related data were examined. All treatments were delivered with megavoltage photon beams or electron beams. Patients were evaluated by an attending radiation oncologist for toxicity and response on a weekly basis during therapy and monthly after treatment in a multidisciplinary clinic. Acute toxicities were recorded using the Radiation Therapy and Oncology Group (RTOG) common toxicity criteria. Response to treatment was based on both physical exam as well as post-treatment imaging as indicated. RESULTS: Thirteen patients who underwent RT with a diagnosis of HIV were identified. Median age was 53 years and median follow-up was 22 months. Twelve had squamous cell carcinoma and one had lymphoproliferative parotiditis. Median radiation dose was 66.4 Gy and median duration of treatment was 51 days. The median number of scheduled radiotherapy days missed was zero (range 0 to 7). One patient (8%) developed Grade 4 confluent moist desquamation. Eight patients (61%) developed Grade 3 toxicity. CONCLUSION: Based on our results, HIV-positive individuals appear to tolerate treatment for head and neck cancer, with toxicity similar to that in HIV-negative individuals

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effect of framework design on the fatigue life and failure modes of metal ceramic (MC, Ni-Cr alloy core, VMK 95 porcelain veneer), glass-infiltrated alumina (ICA, In-Ceram Alumina/VM7), and veneered yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystals (Y-TZP, IPSe.max ZirCAD/IPS e.max,) crowns. METHODS: Sixty composite resin tooth replicas of a prepared maxillary first molar were produced to receive crowns systems of a standard (MCs, ICAs, and Y-TZPs, n=10 each) or a modified framework design (MCm, ICAm, and Y-TZPm, n=10 each). Fatigue loading was delivered with a spherical steel indenter (3.18mm radius) on the center of the occlusal surface using r-ratio fatigue (30-300N) until completion of 10(6) cycles or failure. Fatigue was interrupted every 125,000 cycles for damage evaluation. Weibull distribution fits and contour plots were used for examining differences between groups. Failure mode was evaluated by light polarized and SEM microscopy. RESULTS: Weibull analysis showed the highest fatigue life for MC crowns regardless of framework design. No significant difference (confidence bound overlaps) was observed between ICA and Y-TZP with or without framework design modification. Y-TZPm crowns presented fatigue life in the range of MC crowns. No porcelain veneer fracture was observed in the MC groups, whereas ICAs presented bulk fracture and ICAm failed mainly through the veneer. Y-TZP crowns failed through chipping within the veneer, without core fractures. CONCLUSIONS: Framework design modification did not improve the fatigue life of the crown systems investigated. Y-TZPm crowns showed comparable fatigue life to MC groups. Failure mode varied according to crown system