Acute emergency tibialization of the fibula: reconstruction of a massive tibial defect in a type IIIC open fracture

Gustilo type IIIC open fractures of the tibia are high-energy injuries necessitating long treatment periods and usually multiple surgical procedures and eventually resulting in high morbidity rates and even amputations. We present here a case involving a type IIIC open tibial fracture with massive loss of the entire tibial diaphysis, which we treated by performing acute tibialization of the fibula after revascularization of the posterior tibial artery in a single-stage emergency operation.     

Case gender and severity in cerebral palsy varies with intrauterine growth

Background: There is an unexplained excess of cerebral palsy among male babies. There is also variation in the proportion of more severe cases by birth weight. It has recently been shown that the rate of cerebral palsy increases as intrauterine size deviates up or down from an optimum about one standard deviation heavier than population mean weight-for-gestation. Aims: To determine whether the gender ratio or the severity of cases also varies with intrauterine size. Methods: A total of 3454 cases of cerebral palsy among single births between 1976 and 1990 with sufficient data to assign case severity (based on intellectual impairment and walking ability) and to compare weight-for-gestation at birth to sex specific fetal growth standards, were aggregated from nine separate registers in five European countries. Results: The greater the degree to which growth deviates either up or down from optimal weight-for-gestation at birth, the higher is the rate of cerebral palsy, the larger is the proportion of male cases, and the more severe is the functional disability. Compared to those with optimum growth the risk of more severe cerebral palsy in male babies is 16 times higher for those with a birth weight below the 3rd centile and four times higher when birth weight is above the 97th centile. In contrast, for mild cerebral palsy in female babies the excess risks at these growth extremes are about half these magnitudes. Conclusions: Among singleton children with cerebral palsy, abnormal intrauterine size, either small or large, is associated with more severe disability and male sex.     

Arthroscopic meniscectomy for discoid lateral meniscus in children and adolescents: 4.5 year follow-up

We retrospectively reviewed the 4.5 year (range, 21-88 months) follow-up results of arthroscopic partial meniscectomies performed in 11 knees between 1994 and 2000 to treat a symptomatic discoid lateral meniscus. The average age at surgery was 11.5 years (range, 5-17 years). All except one of the discoid menisci were of a complete type, and all except three were torn menisci. At the latest follow-up examination, the result was excellent for nine knees, and good for two; no degenerative changes were evident on the roentgenograms. Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy should be the treatment of choice for the complete type symptomatic lateral discoid meniscus, even if it is intact. Preoperative lack of the knee extension requires a gentle rehabilitation program postoperatively.     

Efficacy of routine fetal ultrasound screening for congenital heart disease in Isère County, France.

Recent literature has revealed different percentages of prenatal detection of congenital heart disease. Therefore we chose to analyse the sensitivity of this screening in Isère county and to scrutinize to which extent factors like severity of the anomaly, extracardiac anomalies and maternal age influence the sensitivity. This retrospective study covers the period from 1989 to 1995. All the pregnancies with congenital heart disease in Isère county in France were reviewed and analysed, which was possible thanks to our registry of congenital anomalies. In this period, 316 cases were registered in the central database. We obtained an overall sensitivity of 34.8 per cent. By splitting the different malformations into two groups we got a detection rate of 53.7 per cent for major malformations and 26.7 per cent for other abnormalities. This difference is significant. Nevertheless, the sensitivity remains quite low. This result stresses the need for better education of investigators in primary care units, particularly because the prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart disease has a major impact on the outcome of pregnancy, which can be seen in the increased number of abortions in this group.     

Aetiological findings and associated factors in children with severe mental retardation

The purpose of this study, through a retrospective epidemiological survey carried out over three geographical areas in France, was to characterize the aetiological factors involved in severe mental retardation (SMR) within a geographically defined population of children with disabilities aged between 7 and 16 years. The inclusion criteria for SMR (IQ<50) were met by 1150 children born between 1976 and 1985. Of these children, aetiology was known in 25%, suspected (or unclear) in 26%, and unknown in 49%. These rates of known and suspected aetiology varied between the groups of children with CP and those without CP. An analysis of factors associated with SMR was undertaken among the 144 subjects with SMR, of suspected or unknown aetiology, who had been referred to a neonatal care unit with or without intensive care (NCU) during their neonatal period. These subjects with SMR were compared with 864 children without SMR (control children) who were also referred to an NCU during their neonatal period. The main specific associated factors were a prolonged intubation of more than 24 hours, a very low birthweight (<1500 g) for children with an associated clinical feature of CP, and the presence of isolated neonatal fits and a time of transfer to the NCU of more than 4 hours after birth for children without an associated clinical feature of CP. Although common associated factors were encountered in the children with SMR with CP and the children with SMR without CP, the results of this study suggest differences in the underlying pathogenic factors.