ObjectiveTo investigate the mechanisms,diagnosis,and surgical procedures of simultaneous lesions of the rotator cuff and the brachial plexus. MethodsBetween July 2006 and June 2012,7 patients with rotator cuff tear associated with brachial plexus injury were treated.There were 3 males and 4 females with a mean age of 47.3 years (range,37-72 years).The reasons of injury were traumatic shoulder dislocation in 6 cases and falling injury from height in 1 case,with a mean disease duration of 17 days (range,5-31 days).The average American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score was 55.86±9.42,and visual analogue scale (VAS) score was 7.14±1.35.There were 3 cases of large rotator cuff tears (>3 cm) and 4 cases of massive rotator cuff tears (>5 cm) according to Gerber standard;1 case had upper trunk injury of the brachial plexus and 6 cases had bundle branch injury of the brachial plexus according to GU Yudong's classification.The functional score of brachial plexus score was 7.43±1.27 according to the functional assessment standard by Hand Surgery Branch of Chinese Medical Association.All patients accepted arthroscopic rotator cuff repairing,and 1 case received surgical neurolysis of brachial plexus. ResultsAll incisions healed by first intention without complication.All the 7 patients were followed up 18 to 25 months (mean,20.4 months).The function,muscle strength,and sensation of the shoulder were improved obviously.The shoulder ASES score was 84.71±8.06 and was significantly better than preoperative score (t=-8.194,P=0.000).The VAS score was 2.71±1.50 and was significantly better than preoperative score (t=7.750,P=0.000).The functional score of brachial plexus was 14.00±1.16 and was significantly better than preoperative score (t=-11.500,P=0.000). ConclusionIt is difficult to simultaneously diagnose lesions of the rotator cuff and the brachial plexus;orthopedists should pay attention to possible patients to avoid missed diagnosis and diagnostic errors.Nerve nutrition,physical therapy,and arthroscopic rotator cuff repair can achieve good effectiveness.
Objective To compare the short-term effectiveness between primary cemented and uncemented total hip arthroplasty (THA) for osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) after renal transplantation. Methods The clinical data were retrospectively analyzed from 18 patients (21 hips) with ONFH after renal transplantation undergoing cemented THA in 11 cases (13 hips) (cemented group) and uncemented THA in 7 cases (8 hips) (uncemented group) between February 2005 and February 2012. There was no significant difference in gender, age, disease duration, ONFH stage, preoperative Harris score, and bone density between 2 groups (P gt; 0.05). Postoperative complications were observed in 2 groups; the hip function was assessed based on Harris scores; X-ray film was used to observe the prosthetic situation. Results All the wounds healed by first intention. The patients were followed up 6-77 months (mean, 46 months) in the cemented group, and 4-71 months (mean, 42 months) in the uncemented group. Femoral prosthesis infection occurred in 1 case (1 hip) respectively in each group; hip dislocation, femoral prosthesis loosening, and acetabular prosthesis loosening occurred in 1 case (1 hip) of the cemented group, respectively. At last follow-up, the incidences of postoperative complications and revision rate of the cemented group were 30.7% (4/13) and 23.1% (3/13) respectively, which were significantly higher than those of the uncemented group [12.5% (1/8) and 0 (0/8)] (P=0.047, P=0.040). Harris score was significantly increased to 94.1 ± 3.7 in the uncemented group and 90.0 ± 4.2 in the cemented group, showing significant differences compared with the preoperative scores in 2 groups (P lt; 0.05), but there was no significant difference between 2 groups (t=1.815, P=0.062). Postoperative X-ray films showed that the initial position of the prosthesis was satisfactory. At last follow-up, the bone fixation, fibrous stability, and loosening of the femoral prosthesis and loosening of acetabular prosthesis occurred in 9 hips, 3 hips, 1 hip, and 1 hip of the cemented group, respectively; bone fixation of the femoral prosthesis and stability of acetabular prosthesis were observed in all hips of the uncemented group. There was no heterotopic ossification in 2 groups. Conclusion Uncemented THA after renal transplantation can obtain satisfactory short-term effectiveness, and uncemented THA is better than the cemented THA; however, the middle- and long-term effectivenesses need further observation．