With resumption of elective spine surgery services following the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic, we conducted a multi-centre BASS collaborative study to examine the clinical outcomes of surgeries. Prospective data was collected from eight spinal centres in the first month of operating following restoration of elective spine surgery following the first wave. Primary outcomes measures were the 30-day mortality rate and postoperative Covid-19 infection rate. Secondary outcomes analysed were the surgical, medical adverse events and length of inpatient stay.Abstract
Aim
Methods
The rate of subsidence for lumbar fusion surgery is variable from 7- 89%. Subsidance can affect the outcome of surgery by compramising alignment, foraminal height and stability. Modic changes have been shown to affect the stiffness and strength of the vertebral end plate and shown to affect both fusion rates and clinical outcome. Ongoing laboratory investigations into the material properties of the degenerate lumbar spine show modic changes affect the end plate and trabecular bone mechanics. This study aims to bridge this basic science research into clinical practice. A retrospective analysis of all patients in two tertiary spinal centres who have undergone lumbar interbody fusion with the implantation of a ‘cage’ over the past 6 years were analysed by two independent spinal surgeons. Pre-operative MRI findings were correlated with post-operative interbody cage subsidence after 1 year.Background
Methods
Osteoarthritis of basal joint of the thumb represents one of the commonest degenerative diseases of the hand and wrist region. Depending on the severity of clinical symptoms surgical treatment is often recommended. Resection arthroplasty of the CMC joint with tendon interposition can be regarded as the gold standard. The aim of our study is to compare the Burton Pellegrini technique with a new modified technique of resection arthroplasty with interposition of local capsule tissue. We retrospectively evaluated 2 groups of patients. Two Consultant Surgeons took part in the study, one for each group, with each consultant performing trapeziectomies using only one of the techiniques for all his patients. The first group underwent trapeziectomy and local capsule interposition. It consists of 26 patients with a female/male ratio of 20/6, an average age of 64 years (range 53–88), an average follow up of 3.15 years (range 9–1) and a left/right ratio of 16/10. The second group underwent a standard Burton Pellegrini including flexor tendon interposition. It consists of 13 patients with a female/male ratio of 5/8, an average age of 68 years (range 58–85), an average follow up of 4.46 years (range 9–1) and a left/right ratio of 5/8. The outcomes were compared using the Michigan Hand Outcomes Questionnaire. A 2-tailed independent samples t-test was used for the statistical analysis of our data.Background
Materials and Methods
The aim of this study was to review the different surgical modalities for ingrown toenails in the paediatric age group in a hospital setting.
All procedures were carried out under general anaesthetic. The treatment methods practised were:
Nail avulsion with or without nail matrix ablation using phenol. Wedge excision of the nail with or without nail matrix ablation using phenol or thermal ablation.
We also applied the same Fischer’s exact test for rate of infection in all the groups.
During the stage of inflammation, conservative measures in the past have been noted to be successful. In a hospital setting, most patients present in the second stage (infection). Nail avulsion is still commonly practised as a first line treatment. It provides good symptomatic relief in this stage but has been reported to have high rates of recurrence. We noted similar results (recurrence rate: 55%) in our study. Then patients present in the next stage with symptoms of chronic ingrowths i.e. previous infection and presence granulation tissue in the nail fold. The aim of treatment here is to remove the ingrown area along with the nail fold. Wedge excision with or without removal of nail matrix is a commonly performed procedure. There are various methods for removing the nail matrix namely surgical matrixectomy, chemical matrixectomy using phenol or sodium hydroxides, diathermic/electric cauterisation, laser. There are reports that show low recurrence rates with use of phenol. In this study we found recurrence and infection to be high when phenol was used as the ablative agent. We achieved cure rate of 97% when using wedge excision alone and 70% when phenol was used for nail matrix ablation.
