Operative treatment of Smith-Goyrand fractures

Optimal treatment of Smith's fracture remains controversial. Conservative management of type III fractures is acceptable, but results are moderate for types I and II.

This study includes 53 patients operated on during the past 10 years; six of type I, 17 of type II and 30 of type III.

The functional end result was good in 32 cases (60.3 per cent) and excellent in nine cases (16.9 per cent).

Functional results of types I, II and III were comparable when the excellent and good groups were added together.

There was no correlation between anatomical result and functional outcome (κ = 0.07), although a good anatomical result usually accompanied a good to excellent functional end result. Operative treatment of Smith's fractures have good functional end results in our hands, regardless of the fracture type.     

Framework for interactive million-neuron simulation.

SUMMARY: Large simulations have become increasingly complex in many fields, tending to incorporate scale-dependent modeling and algorithms and wide-ranging physical influences. This scale of simulation sophistication has not yet been matched in neuroscience. The authors describe a framework aimed at enabling natural interaction with complex simulations: their configuration, initial conditions, monitoring, and analysis. The architecture is built on three cornerstone components: active probes, adaptive data capture, and visual interface. The resulting synthesis will enable interactive exploration of live simulations running on supercomputing platforms.     

Bilateral naevus of Ota: a rare manifestation in a Caucasian

The naevus of Ota (naevus fusculocoeruleus ophthalmomaxillaris) was first described by the Japanese dermatologist M. T. Ota in 1939. It has a reported incidence of 0.2% to 1% in the Japanese population. It usually occurs in the skin innervated by the first or second branch of the trigeminal nerve. The naevus comprises dermal melanocytes and is congenital or acquired during adolescence. Commonly associated lesions include scleral melanocytosis and other ocular manifestations as well as lesions of the tympanic membrane, oral and intranasal mucosa and leptomeninges. Diseases associated with Ota's naevus in rare cases are open-angle glaucomas and melanoma. The naevus of Ota in Europeans is a rare manifestation. We report the very rare case of a bilateral naevus of Ota associated with enoral melanocytosis in a white European person.     

Surgery for posterior inguinal wall deficiency in athletes

This study retrospectively evaluated the outcome for patients undergoing herniorraphy for chronic groin pain due to posterior inguinal wall deficiency, and correlated the outcome with preoperative investigation findings. There were 47 patients (with a total of 52 herniorraphies) who were contacted by phone between six and 50 months post surgery. Subjects had a diagnosis of posterior inguinal wall deficiency made on history and clinical examination. Thirty seven patients had an ultrasound scan prior to the surgery (three bilateral) with a total of 40 symptomatic groins scanned. There were 26 abnormal scans (22 posterior inguinal wall deficiency and four hernias) and 14 normal scans. Twenty nine patients had a technetium-99m bone scan with 22 having increased uptake at the symptomatic pubic tubercle, while 13 had increased uptake at other sites in the groin. Seventy seven percent of patients had a full return to sport after surgery and the average time to return to sport was four months. There was no significant difference in outcome between subjects who had an abnormal ultrasound scan on the symptomatic side and those who had a normal scan. There was a significant difference in outcome between patients who had a bone scan with increased uptake at the symptomatic pubic tubercle and those who did not (p < 0.04). Our study supports previous research that good results can be obtained with surgery when posterior inguinal wall deficiency is the sole diagnosis. Ultrasound scan does not appear to aid in predicting surgical outcome, while the role of isotope bone scanning requires further study.     

Mandibular atrophy and metabolic bone loss. Mandibular ridge augmentation by combined sandwich-visor osteotomy and resorption related to metabolic bone state. A 5-year follow-up

92 patients, 31 with and 61 without signs of metabolic bone loss, were treated with a combined sandwich-visor osteotomy. A 5-year follow-up showed a significantly higher rate of resorption in patients with radiographic signs of metabolic bone loss. The analysis was based upon lateral cephalometry.