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Biomedical subjects

M L Routt

Publications and source records attributed to M L Routt.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Percutaneous management of unstable pelvic ring disruptions.

Percutaneous pelvic fixation stabilizes pelvic ring disruptions without extensive pelvic dissection. For this reason, these anterior and posterior percutaneous pelvic fixation techniques allow acute and definitive treatment. Successful percutaneous pelvic fixation techniques depend on accurate closed reduction, excellent intraoperative fluoroscopic imaging, and detailed preoperative planning. Early pelvic stability diminishes haemorrhage, provides patient comfort, and allows early patient mobilization from recumbency.

Bone Screws↗
PubMed2001

Percutaneous stabilization of U-shaped sacral fractures using iliosacral screws: technique and early results.

PURPOSE: To present the technique and early results of percutaneous stabilization of U-shaped sacral fractures with attention to neurologic recovery and maintenance of fracture reduction of the sacrum. DESIGN: Retrospective clinical study. SETTING: Level I trauma center. PATIENTS: During a thirty-eight-month period, 442 patients with pelvic ring disruptions were treated at a Level I trauma center. Thirteen (2.9 percent) of these patients had displaced U-shaped sacral fractures treated with percutaneous stabilization. INTERVENTION: Fracture stabilization was accomplished using fluoroscopically guided iliosacral screws inserted percutaneously with the patient positioned supine. Neurodiagnostic monitoring was not used during screw insertions. This technique was limited to patients with sacral kyphotic deformities, which allowed in situ fixation. Sacral neurologic decompression was not performed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Fracture healing and the stability of fixation were assessed on inlet and outlet radiographs and a lateral sacral view. Detailed neurologic examinations were performed at injury and at follow-up. RESULTS: The sacral fractures were classified based on plain pelvic radiographs and computed tomography scans and included one Type 1, eight Type 2, and four Type 3 fracture patterns. Twenty-five fully threaded cancellous 7.0-millimeter cannulated screws were used. Eleven patients had bilateral screw fixations; one patient had unilateral double screw fixation; and one patient had unilateral single screw fixation. Operative time for screw insertion averaged forty-eight minutes, with 2.1 minutes of fluoroscopy per screw. Accurate screw insertions without neuroforaminal or sacral spinal canal violations were confirmed in all patients with postoperative pelvic plain radiographs and computed tomography scans. A paradoxical inlet view of the upper sacral segments on the injury anteroposterior pelvis was seen in twelve of thirteen patients (92.3 percent), and the diagnosis was confirmed with the lateral sacral view in all thirteen (100 percent) patients. Preoperatively, sacral kyphosis averaged 29 degrees, whereas postoperative sacral kyphosis averaged 28 degrees. Screw disengagement occurred without a change in position of the sacral fracture in the only patient treated with a single unilateral screw. All fractures healed clinically and radiographically. Of the nine patients with preoperative neurologic abnormalities, two (22 percent) patients had residual neurologic deficits. Both patients had associated multiple level lumbar burst fractures, which required decompression and instrumented stabilization. CONCLUSIONS: These sacral fractures are rare and occur after significant spinal axial loading. A paradoxic inlet view of the upper sacrum on the anteroposterior plain pelvic radiograph heralds the diagnosis. Delayed diagnosis is avoided by a high clinical suspicion, early lateral sacral radiographs, and pelvic computed tomography scans. Surgical stabilization may assist in early mobilization of the patient from recumbency and prevents progressive deformity with associated nerve root injury. Percutaneous fixation diminishes potential blood loss and operative times, yet still allows subsequent sacral decompression of the local neural elements using open techniques when necessary. Early percutaneous iliosacral screw fixation is effective treatment for these injuries.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Lumbosacral plexopathy in pelvic trauma.

We reviewed the electrophysiologic data and the etiology of lumbosacral plexopathy in 22 consecutive patients with pelvic trauma referred for electromyography (EMG). Most (68%) patients had sacral fractures or sacroiliac joint separation, 14% had acetabular fractures, and 9% had femoral fractures. Lumbosacral plexopathy was significantly more common (P = 0.0026) among patients with sacral fractures (incidence of 2.03%) than among the entire population of patients with pelvic and acetabular fractures (overall incidence 0. 7%). Patients with acetabular and femoral fractures may have suffered injury to multiple proximal nerves originating from the plexus rather than injury to the plexus, as confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) neurogram in select cases.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed2000

Percutaneous fixation of pelvic ring disruptions.

Percutaneous pelvic fixation is possible because intraoperative fluoroscopic imaging and other technologies have been refined. Anterior and posterior unstable pelvic ring disruptions are amenable to percutaneous fixation after closed manipulation or open reduction. Stable and safe fixation is achieved only after an accurate reduction. Anterior pelvic external fixation remains the most common form of percutaneous pelvic fixation; however, percutaneously inserted medullary pubic ramus, transiliac, and iliosacral screws stabilize pelvic disruptions directly while diminishing operative blood loss and operative time. These percutaneous techniques do not decompress the pelvic hematoma allowing early definitive fixation without the risk of additional hemorrhage. Complications associated with open posterior pelvic surgical procedures are similarly avoided by using percutaneous techniques. A thorough knowledge of pelvic osseous anatomy, injury patterns, deformities, and their fluoroscopic correlations are mandatory for percutaneous pelvic fixation to be effective.

Biomechanical Phenomena↗
PubMed2000

Comminuted fractures of the iliac wing.

PURPOSE: Comminuted iliac fractures are uncommon and difficult to treat. The purpose of this study is to further delineate the fractures, to present a management protocol, and to evaluate the results of treatment. DESIGN: Retrospective clinical study. SETTING: Level one trauma center at Harborview Medical Center. PATIENTS: During a sixty-eight-month period, 695 patients with pelvic ring disruptions were treated at a level one trauma center. Thirteen (1.9%) of these patients had a severely comminuted iliac fracture. All patients were men, ranging in age from twenty to eighty years (mean, 38 years). These patients were polytraumatized and had a mean Injury Severity Score of 23. Eleven of the thirteen patients had severe iliac and flank degloving injuries. Five patients had open fractures, one with fecal contamination requiring diverting colostomy. Six patients with clinical signs of hemodynamic instability had local arterial injuries associated with their fractures. All five patients with extension of the fracture into the greater sciatic notch were found to have a local arterial injury on angiography. One patient had a lumbosacral plexopathy on the fractured side. Four patients had traumatic brain injuries. INTERVENTION: All thirteen patients were treated operatively. Routine pelvic external fixation was not possible because of the iliac comminution. Stable internal fixation was accomplished by an anterior iliac surgical exposure using lag screw and plate combinations. The open wounds and degloving injuries were treated with irrigation, debridement, and closed suction drainage. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Healing and stability of fixation were assessed clinically and on pelvic radiographs. RESULTS: Comminuted iliac fractures were divided into two patient groups, according to associated pelvic ring disruption. Follow-up evaluations were available for all patients at a mean of eighteen months after injury. There were no deaths. All of the fractures healed clinically and radiographically. In one patient, fecal contamination caused a polymicrobial wound infection, and this patient had an associated delay in union of the fracture. Another patient with an open fracture developed a deep wound infection. Both infections responded to local management and antibiotics. There were no complications associated with the degloving injuries. CONCLUSIONS: Comminuted iliac fractures occur in two distinct patterns and are associated with numerous local injuries that complicate management. Management protocols should include early open reduction and stable internal fixation. Traumatic open wounds should not be closed primarily. Primary closure with closed suction drainage is effective in the management of associated degloving injuries. Extension of the fracture into the greater sciatic notch warrants further evaluation with pelvic angiography.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Simple anterior pelvic external fixation.

BACKGROUND: Unstable pelvic ring disruptions are often associated with significant morbidity and mortality, especially in patients with multiple injuries. Early pelvic fixation provides stability and should diminish ongoing hemorrhage. A simple anterior single-pin pelvic external fixator can be applied rapidly and accurately to stabilize pelvic ring injuries as a part of the initial patient resuscitation of such patients. Simple anterior pelvic external fixation (SAPEF) frames can be used as either temporary, definitive, or supplementary fixation depending on the pelvic injury pattern. METHODS: Over a 32-month period, 41 patients with unstable pelvic ring disruptions were stabilized using a simple anterior pelvic external fixator. Eight patients had open pelvic ring injuries and 13 others had genitourinary system disruptions. Fluoroscopic imaging was used to insert all of the fixation pins into the iliac crest between the iliac cortical tables to a depth of at least 5 cm. Each patient had closed manipulative reduction of the pelvic ring using external methods before SAPEF application. RESULTS: One patient died less than 24 hours after injury because of torrential hemorrhage. Clinical evaluations and serial radiographs, including postoperative computed tomographic scans, were available for the other 40 patients postoperatively. Seventy-five of the 80 (94%) pins were completely contained between the iliac cortical tables, according to the computed tomographic scans. The initial pelvic closed reductions were maintained until the fixators were removed in 37 of 40 patients (93%). Only one deep pin track infection developed, mandating early frame removal and intravenous antibiotic therapy. CONCLUSION: Simple anterior pelvic external fixation can be applied rapidly using fluoroscopic guidance to direct accurate pin insertion and closed manipulative reduction of the pelvis. Depending on the specific pelvic ring injury pattern and clinical scenario, SAPEF can serve as a resuscitative temporary fixation device, as definitive pelvic treatment, or as a supplement for pelvic internal fixation implants.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Unstable pelvic ring disruptions in unstable patients.

Management of the patient with a high-energy pelvic fracture requires a multidisciplinary team approach with coordination between the general surgery, orthopaedic surgery, neurosurgery, and urology teams. Resuscitation and initial evaluation efforts are critical in stabilization of the patient. An understanding of the complex nature of the pelvic anatomy and injury patterns, the associated injuries, and various treatment fixation constructs are necessary for a successful outcome. This review outlines the initial stabilization and definitive management for the spectrum of pelvic ring disruptions. Case examples illustrate the discussion.

Bone Nails↗
PubMed1998

Open pelvic fracture and fecal diversion.

BACKGROUND: Mandatory fecal diversion has been advocated as an appropriate measure to prevent infection in the clinical setting of an open pelvic fracture. However, the efficacy of this practice has not been verified by prospective investigation and has received only inconsistent support from retrospective analyses. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether fecal diversion is associated with a substantially lower incidence of abdominopelvic infectious complications in patients with open pelvic fractures. DESIGN: Case-control study. SETTING: University-based tertiary care, level I trauma center. METHODS: The current study reviews our experience with 60 cases admitted from 1987 to 1993 to Harborview Medical Center, a regional level I trauma center. Data collected on each patient included age, sex, Injury Severity Score, Glasgow Coma Scale, initial heart rate and systolic blood pressure, location and severity of wound, fracture pattern, pelvic stability, time to open reduction internal fixation or external fixation, mortality, use of fecal diversion, and incidence and location of infection. Review of the literature produced an additional 186 patients amenable to analysis. RESULTS: Fecal diversion was performed in 19 patients, 5 (26%) of whom experienced subsequent abdominopelvic infectious morbidity. Of the remaining 41 patients, 7 patients (17%) experienced infectious complications. The 2 groups (diversion vs no diversion) were comparable with regard to relevant demographic and clinical characteristics of injury severity. Combining the present series with those reported by others gave a composite series of 246 patients. For the composite series, diversion was performed in 70% of patients. Infection developed in 27% of patients who underwent diversion vs 29% in patients who did not. In the present series, only mechanical instability was determined by stepwise logistic regression to be significantly associated with pelvic infection. This association was not altered by diversion status. CONCLUSIONS: Diversion of the fecal stream to protect open pelvic fractures is not associated with a lower incidence of abdominopelvic infectious complications. Diversion may offer protection to a select group of patients with extensive soft tissue injury or posterior wounds. Mechanical instability was independently associated with infection.

Abdominal Abscess↗
PubMed1998

Rotational imaging of complex acetabular fractures.

Understanding complex acetabular fractures is difficult and may require three-dimensional reformatted computed tomographic (CT) images. This paper evaluates a technique, digital rotational imaging (DRI), that displays multiple oblique images of the pelvis and acetabulum. When viewed statically, DRI provides optimal iliac and obturator oblique projections, often differing in obliquity from the conventional 45-degree orthogonal views. Dynamic DRI viewing in rapid sequence provides a three-dimensional effect that improves perception of acetabular fracture relationships.

Acetabulum↗
PubMed1997

The unstable iliac fracture: a biomechanical evaluation of internal fixation.

Neither plating nor lag screw fixation of a displaced iliac wing fracture as part of an unstable pelvic ring disruption has been studied biomechanically. The purpose of this study was to compare the stability of various combinations of fixation, specifically contrasting lag screws placed between the tables of the ilium with plating in different locations across the fracture line. Various combinations of these fixation implants were evaluated for an unstable iliac fracture. A longitudinal iliac fracture was created in each of six hemi-pelvic specimens prior to testing. Compressive force, up to 500 N or to the magnitude necessary to displace the fracture 2 mm, was applied to the fracture line through the hemi-pelvis for each of the plate and lag screw combinations tested. There was no statistical difference between any of the implants or combinations tested. A single 3.5-mm reconstruction (cephalad) plate placed along the cephalad internal aspect of the iliac crest provided the least stability allowing 2 mm of displacement with a mean load of 80 N. The two combinations of fixation that required the greatest loads for 2 mm of displacement were a single 3.5-mm lag (cephalad) screw inserted into the iliac crest between the tables of the ilium coupled with either a 3.5-mm reconstruction (brim) plate placed along the internal aspect of the inferior iliac fossa at the pelvic brim (239 N) or a 4.5-mm lag (brim) screw between the inner and outer tables at the inferior aspect of the fracture just above the greater sciatic notch (225 N).

Aged↗
PubMed1997

Biomechanics of pelvic fixation.

This article reviews a series of biomechanical studies performed in the author's laboratory, evaluating the instabilities produced by the more common and problematic pelvic ring fracture patterns and the increasingly popular and newly developed modes of internal fixation. Topics that are discussed include the following: anteroposterior compression injuries and the disrupted sacroiliac joint; sacral fractures; anteroposterior compression injuries and symphyseal fixation; new symphyseal plate designs; unstable pubic rami fractures; unstable fractures of the iliac wing; and resuscitation fixator biomechanics.

Biomechanical Phenomena↗
PubMed1997

Stabilization of pelvic ring disruptions.

Pelvic ring disruptions are challenging management problems for the orthopedic surgeon. Early hemorrhage, permanent nerve injury, and late pain caused by residual pelvic deformity are some of the many complicating factors. A variety of treatment alternatives are available to stabilize the disrupted pelvic ring. Each technique has inherent advantages and problems.

Child↗
PubMed1997

Iliosacral screw fixation: early complications of the percutaneous technique.

OBJECTIVE: To report on the early complications related to the percutaneous placement of iliosacral screws for the operative treatment of displaced posterior pelvic ring disruptions. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective, consecutive. SETTING: Level-one trauma center. PATIENTS: One hundred seventy-seven consecutive patients with unstable pelvic ring fractures. One hundred two male and seventy-five female patients ranging in age from eleven to seventy-eight years (mean, thirty-two years). INTERVENTIONS: Operative procedures were performed urgently according to the patient's clinical condition. Anterior pelvic reductions and fixations were performed by using internal and external fixation techniques. Accurate closed or open reductions of the posterior pelvic ring disruptions were accomplished by using a variety of surgical techniques dependent on the specific pattern of pelvic ring disruption. Closed manipulative reductions of the posterior pelvic ring were attempted for all patients. Open reductions were necessary in those patients with unacceptable closed manipulative reductions as assessed fluoroscopically at the time of operation (more than one centimeter in any field of fluoroscopic imaging). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Plain inlet and outlet radiographs were obtained postoperatively at six weeks, three months, and twelve months. A pelvic computed tomography scan was performed postoperatively to assess fracture or dislocation reduction and the implant safety. Annual follow-up pelvic radiographs were obtained. Residual pelvic deformities were quantified based on these imaging modalities. RESULTS: There were no posterior pelvic infections. Minimal blood loss was associated with this technique. Complications occurred due to inadequate imaging, surgeon error, and fixation failure. Fluoroscopic imaging was inadequate due to obesity or abdominal contrast in eighteen patients. Five screws were misplaced due to surgeon error. One misplaced screw produced a transient L5 neuropraxia. Fixation failures related to either crandiocerebral trauma, delayed union, noncomplicance, and a deep anterior pelvic polymicrobial infection secondary to a urethral tear occurred in seven patients. There were two sacral nonunions that required debridement, bone grafting, and repeat fixation prior to healing. CONCLUSIONS: Iliosacral screw fixation of the posterior pelvis is difficult. The surgeon must understand the variability of sacral anatomy. Quality triplanar fluoroscopic imaging of the accurately reduced posterior pelvic ring should allow for safe iliosacral screw insertions. Anticipated noncompliant patients or those with craniocerebral trauma may need supplementary posterior pelvic fixation. Low rates of infection, blood loss, and nonunion can be expected.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Outcome after pelvic ring fractures: evaluation using the medical outcomes short form SF-36.

Fifty-five multiply injured patients with operatively treated unstable pelvic fractures were evaluated for patient-oriented outcome measures. Forty-six adult patients were eligible to complete the SF-36 medical outcome score and completed the SF-36 eight scale medical outcome score by postal questionnaire at a mean follow up to 2 years. The average Injury Severity Score of the eligible patients was 17.5. The average age of the patients was 32 years and 8 months. Fractures were classified by the Tile classification and there were 13 type B and 33 type C pelvic fractures. Seventy-six per cent of patients responded to the surgery. There was a 14 per cent impairment in physical outcome score and a 5.5 per cent impairment in mental outcome score compared with the normal population. The physical and mental outcome of multiply injured patients with pelvic fractures can be measured objectively.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Closed reduction and percutaneous skeletal fixation of sacral fractures.

Closed manipulative reduction and percutaneous fixation of a displaced sacral fracture is a treatment alternative that offers several advantages. The fracture is reduced and stabilized without an extensile surgical exposure. The risks of surgical wound problems, especially infection, are lessened. Operative and anesthesia times are decreased by using percutaneous techniques of reduction and fixation. Blood loss is also minimized by the percutaneous procedure. Sacral nonunion after this technique is rare. The procedure is dependent on quality fluoroscopic pelvic imaging, a thorough understanding of the posterior pelvic anatomy and early operative intervention, especially in patients with severe posterior pelvic deformities.

Adolescent↗