Biomedical subjects

Walter O Carlson

Publications and source records attributed to Walter O Carlson.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Spinal stenosis.

Spinal stenosis can be generally described as the narrowing of the spinal canal causing compression of the spinal cord. This compression most often occurs in the lumbar portion of the spine and has a clinical presentation of pain and numbness in the low back, legs and buttocks after walking or extension of the lumbar spine. The symptoms associated with lumbar spinal stenosis are usually relieved with flexion of the lower back. In addition, compression at the cervical spine has occasionally been seen in combination with lumbar spinal stenosis, with thoracic spinal stenosis occurring only rarely. Therefore, because spinal stenosis is the most prevalent preoperative diagnosis for spine surgery and affects nearly 5 of every 1000 Americans older than 50 years old, it is imperative to understand the role of spinal stenosis in generating back and leg pain. In this article an overview of the etiology, treatment, and outcomes will be presented to give a better understanding of this condition.

Aged↗

PubMed2006

Vertebral compression fractures: treatment and evaluation.

Vertebral compression fractures can occur secondary trauma, malignancies, or most commonly osteoporosis. Osteoporosis causes almost 1.5 million fractures throughout the United States every year and nearly 700,000 of these fractures are vertebral compression fractures. These fractures are frequently seen in elderly women; 40 percent of women older than 80 years old are affected by vertebral compression fractures. These injuries can be treated both conservatively and surgically. The conservative route includes bed rest, pain control, bracing, and strength training. The surgical method includes percutaneous vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty, both minimally invasive procedures. This article provides a general introduction to vertebral compression fractures and osteoporosis, the diagnostic methods used to identify vertebral compression fractures, and the known treatments.

Aged, 80 and over↗

PubMed2005

Monteggia fractures: beware!

Monteggia fractures consist of an ulna fracture accompanied by radial dislocation. These fractures are easily overlooked because of the prominence of the ulnar fracture. Furthermore, the leading cause of malpractice cases brought against emergency departments involve missing high-risk orthopedic injuries, such as Monteggia fractures. The purpose of this article is to provide sufficient information to reduce the possibility of underestimating forearm injuries and, consequently, diagnose a Monteggia fracture correctly. This article outlines the classification of Monteggia fractures, the mechanism of injury, a specific case report, and a discussion of consequences when the extent of the injury is underestimated. Finally, specific ways are presented to easily avoid the misjudgment of a Monteggia fracture.

Child↗