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Biomedical subjects

B E Fredrickson

Publications and source records attributed to B E Fredrickson.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Conservative treatment of fractures of the thoracic and lumbar spine.

Patients with burst fractures of the thoracic and lumbar spines must receive individualized case analysis before a course of therapy can be decided. A consideration of fracture stability, degree of canal compromise, and patient evaluation becomes significant in determining operative or nonoperative treatment. In neurologically intact patients with selected fractures, nonoperative treatment can be successful in the functional rehabilitation of the patient.

Adolescent↗

Computed tomography of calcaneal fractures: anatomy, pathology, dosimetry, and clinical relevance.

Eighteen CT examinations were performed in 10 patients for the evaluation of acute intraarticular fractures and their follow-up. Fractures comparable to those in the patients were created in cadavers. The normal anatomy and the traumatically altered anatomy of the calcaneus in the axial, coronal, and sagittal planes are demonstrated by CT and corresponding anatomic sections. Scanning was performed in the axial plane, with subsequent reconstruction in the coronal and sagittal planes. The axial scans show disruption of the inferior part of the posterior facet, calcaneocuboid joint involvement, and widening of the calcaneus. The coronal scans show disruption of the superior part of the posterior facet, sustentaculum tali depression (involvement of middle and anterior facets), peroneal and flexor hallucis longus tendon impingement, and widening and height loss of the calcaneus. The sagittal scans show disruption of the posterior facet, calcaneocuboid joint involvement, and height loss of the calcaneus and allow the evaluation of Boehler's and Gissane's angles. All three planes show the position of major fracture fragments. Radiation dose to the foot was measured to be 0.1 rad (0.001 Gy) for plain film radiography (five exposures), 18 rad (0.18 Gy) for conventional tomography (20 cuts), and 2.6 rad (0.026 Gy) for axial CT examination.

Aged↗

The natural history of spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis.

We performed a prospective roentgenographic study to determine the incidence of spondylolysis, spondylolisthesis, or both, in 500 unselected first-grade children from 1955 through 1957. The families of the children with spondylolysis were followed in a similar manner. The incidence of spondylolysis at the age of six years was 4.4 per cent and increased to 6 per cent in adulthood. The degree of spondylolisthesis was as much as 28 per cent, and progression of the olisthesis was unusual. The data support the hypothesis that the spondylolytic defect is the result of a defect in the cartilaginous anlage of a vertebra. There is a hereditary pre-disposition to the defect and a strong association with spina bifida occulta. Progression of a slip was unlikely after adolescence and the slip was never symptomatic in the population that we studied.

Adolescent↗

The value of computed tomography in thoracolumbar fractures. An analysis of one hundred consecutive cases and a new classification.

We studied 100 consecutive patients with potentially unstable fractures and fracture-dislocations by multiplane computed tomography. The mechanism of failure of the middle osteoligamentous complex of the spine (posterior longitudinal ligament, posterior part of the vertebral body, and posterior annulus fibrosus) was determined by three-dimensional analysis. Three modes of middle-column failure were used to classify the injuries: axial compression (seventy-three patients), axial distraction (fifteen patients), and translation within the transverse plane (twelve patients). Fifty of eighty-six patients who were evaluated in the acute phase of injury underwent operative stabilization, and the mechanism of middle-column disruption determined the type of instrumentation that was used. Compression and distraction injuries of the middle complex could be appropriately treated by Harrington distraction and compression instrumentation, respectively. However, in translational injuries (torn posterior longitudinal ligament) routine Harrington instrumentation was contraindicated due to the risk of overdistraction. Translational injuries were associated with the greatest degree of instability and often had complete ligament discontinuity at the level of the affected vertebrae. Patients with a translational injury had the most severe neural deficits (six of eleven patients studied acutely having a complete spinal cord lesion). Translational injuries of the middle column were treated by segmental spinal instrumentation to provide strong fixation with minimum risk of neural sequelae from passing sublaminar wires. Moreover, postoperative use of a cast over insensate skin was not required. Computed tomography was more sensitive than any other modality in the diagnosis of disruption of the posterior elements in unstable burst fractures, and computer-reconstructed sagittal images were accurate in evaluating the nature of facet-joint failure in distraction injuries. Computed tomography with metrizamide proved superior to either conventional tomography or myelography alone in localizing the site of neural canal compromise in acute thoracolumbar injuries. The mode of failure of the middle osteoligamentous complex as visualized by computed tomography determined the pattern of spinal injury, the severity of the neural deficit, the degree of instability, and the type of instrumentation required.

Adult↗

Treatment of painful long-standing displaced fracture-dislocations of the sacrum. A case report.

A 19-year-old white man sustained multiple injuries, including a severely displaced Malgaigne fracture. Secondary uncontrollable hemorrhage was treated successfully by arterial embolization. The patient retained a painfully displaced right sacroiliac joint. His multiple injuries resolved symptom free with the exception of the right sacroiliac region. An attempt to reduce the dislocation by an extensive soft tissue release and skeletal traction was unsuccessful. Solid fusion of the L4 and L5 vertebrae to the ilium significantly reduced the patient's pain. Painful, long-standing severely displaced Malgaigne fracture can be successfully treated by sacroiliac arthrodesis without reduction.

Adult↗