大龄腭裂患者的手术治疗方法与语音治疗效果的对比研究

目的 对单纯行裂隙关闭术和同期行咽后壁咽成形术的大龄腭裂患者,术前、术后发音效果进行检测分析和对比研究,评定手术的治疗效果.方法 对24例同期行腭裂关闭术及咽后壁组织瓣咽成形术治疗和12例单纯行裂隙关闭术的大龄腭裂患者,术前、术后用鼻咽纤维镜检测其腭咽闭合情况,应用通用音频谱分析系统,对本组术后患者腭裂语音进行声学分析.结果 所有腭裂修复术后,创口均达到临床Ⅰ期愈合,语音也有不同程度改善.大龄腭裂患者采用腭裂关闭及同期咽成形术的修复组,术后发音明显优于单纯行裂隙关闭组.结论 大龄腭裂患者,采用腭裂关闭及同期咽成形术,是提高腭咽闭合和改善发音较好的手术方法.     

Femoral attachment of the anterior cruciate ligament

Endoscopic anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction is one of the most popular orthopaedic procedures. Correct tunnel positioning is a prerequisite to success. Current surgical techniques are unable to duplicate the complex anatomy and function of the native ACL. Surgery mainly aims at restoring anteroposterior laxity. The ACL is not isometric and only a few fibers are nearly isometric over the full range of motion. However, a nearly isometric behaviour of the ACL graft is desirable. Isometry is mainly influenced by femoral attachment; thus the femoral tunnel position has a greater effect than the tibial on graft length changes. The purpose of this article is to describe the anatomy of the femoral ACL insertion and to discuss the surgical techniques used to replicate it.     

Evaluation of clinical outcomes in anterior cruciate ligament surgery

Clinical outcomes data can be used to facilitate patient management decisions, assess clinician and organizational performance, and to provide evidence for the effectiveness of surgery and rehabilitation. The validity of the inferences made from outcomes data are dependent on the validity of the outcomes measures themselves and the circumstances under which the data were collected, analyzed, and interpreted. Clinical outcomes may include measures of impairment of body structure and function, activity limitation, and participation restriction. However, because the relationship between impairment and the resulting activity limitation and participation restriction is not direct, and because activity limitations and participation restrictions are of the utmost concern to the athlete, the primary clinical outcome should be measures of activity limitation and participation restriction. Activity limitation and participation restriction may be measured either through direct observation of performance or by general or specific measures of health related quality of life. Clinical outcomes data must be collected systematically to ensure valid inferences from the data.     

The effect of intraosseous graft length on tendon-bone healing in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using flexor tendon

The current study was performed to understand the relationship between graft length placed within the bone tunnel and intraosseous graft healing in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Twenty-four adult beagle dogs were divided into two groups of 12 animals each. In each animal, ACL reconstruction using a 4-mm diameter autogenous flexor tendon graft was done in the left knee. In groups I and II, the graft having a length of 15 and 5 mm, respectively, was placed within the tibial tunnel. The proximal end of the graft was placed through the over-the-top route in all animals. In each group, five animals were sacrificed immediately after surgery, and the remaining seven were sacrificed at 6 weeks postoperatively. Biomechanical and histologic evaluations were performed. In pull out testing, the ultimate failure load and the linear stiffness of the graft-tibia complex harvested at 6 weeks were significantly greater than those harvested at the time-zero period. There were no significant differences in those parameters between groups I and II at 6 weeks. In each group, the perpendicular collagen fibers connecting the tendon to the bone tunnel wall were observed only in the narrow area located close to the intra-articular tunnel outlet. In conclusion, excessively long placement of the flexor graft within the bone tunnel does not result in an additional increase of anchoring strength and stiffness of the graft in ACL reconstruction.     

Posterior cranial fossa dimensions in the Chiari I malformation: Relation to pathogenesis and clinical presentation

Summary Skull dimensions were measured on lateral skull radiographs in 33 adult patients with MRI-verified Chiari I malformations and in 40 controls. The posterior cranial fossa was significantly smaller and shallower in patients than in controls. In the patients, there was a positive correlation between posterior fossa size and the degree of the cerebellar ectopia, which might indicate that a posterior cranial fossa which was originally too small had been expanded by the herniation of hindbrain structures at an early stage. Pyramidal signs and cerebellar symptoms and signs, which may be due to compression of neural structures, were associated with a large degree of ectopia and a relatively large posterior cranial fossa. Syringomyelia and headache, which may be due to the valve action of the herniated cerebellar tissue, were not associated with a particularly large posterior fossa or herniation. No special clinical presentation was associated with a very small posterior cranial fossa, which may indicate that a small posterior cranial fossa per se has little or no clinical significance, although it may be the primary developmental anomaly.     

Effect of hyaluronan on the healing of partially ruptured anterior cruciate ligament of rabbits

The midportion of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) of rabbits was partially transected, and the effect of hyaluronan (HA) on its healing was determined. A 1% solution of HA (HA group) or physiological phosphate-buffered saline (control group) was administered intraarticularly, at 0.1 ml/kg body weight, once a week from 1 week after the operation. Two, 4, and 6 weeks after the initiation of HA administration, the ACLs were examined grossly, histologically and immunohistochemically. At 2 weeks, the lacerated portions were completely covered with scar-like tissue in both groups. These tissue areas were smaller in the HA group than in the control group. Histologically in the HA group, the regularity of collagen fibers (indicating the maturity of regenerated collagen fibers) had increased compared to findings in the control group, and the number of fibroblastic cells decreased gradually at a significantly faster rate. The number of inflammatory cells and blood vessels decreased gradually in both groups, with these values being lower in the HA group at each time point but not significantly so. Immunohistochemical examination of the repaired tissue revealed strong staining with anti-chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan antibody in the HA group 2 weeks after the first HA administration. The staining gradually became reduced, with the rate of reduction being faster in the HA group than in the control group. The stimulation of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan production and the faster reduction of it in the HA group suggests that HA facilitated tissue repair and inhibited the formation of scar tissue.     

Periarticular heterotopic ossification: A complication of arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using a two-incision technique

Extra-articular heterotopic bone formation was recognized as a postoperative complication of arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions in four knees around the femoral drill hole. Although laxity of the reconstructed anterior cruciate ligament was not observed in these patients, local pain, swelling, and deformity at the site of heterotopic ossification required surgical intervention. The ectopic bone can be successfully excised with restoration of function. The incidence rate of this complication is less than 1%.