Orthopedic surgery is one of the most blood-consuming surgeries. Currently there has been a radical change in transfusion policies, developing a series of therapeutic measures essentially created to minimize the use of allogeneic blood.

On the one hand, the safety of our patients must be even more our main objective. On the other hand, our economic resources are more restricted and therefore we must evaluate our surgical techniques and proceedings in order to be safer and more cost-effective.

The aim of this study is to report our results of the blood lost, the percentage of blood loss, the necessity of transfussions and how many blood pakages are needed.

From a sample of 2400 total knee arthroplasties proceedings, we analyze some surgical proceedings such as lligament balance, patelar traking, artrotomy, ischemia, femoro-tibial axis and type of arthroplasty.

We also examine the total blood lost and the percentage of total blood loss after 4 hours, after 24hours and after 48 hour of the total knee arthoplasty surgery.

We made a statistical analysis with t-test or anova test when it was necesassary.

The outcome of our investigation show that the blood loss when the ischemia is less than 50 minutes is 1470 cc and 1603 cc when is more than 50 minuntes (p<0.05). If we use the medial arthrotomy, the total bleeding is 1563cc, but with subvastus arthrotomy is 1294cc (p<0.05). If we use a primary rotational total knee arthroplasty the bleeding is 953cc, but if we use a PS or PCR the bleeding is 874cc (p<0.05).

As a conclusion we should know that our patients have more blood loss when the ischemia is more than fifty minutes, the bleeding is higher when we make a medial arthrotomy and when we use a rotational knee primary arthroplasty.

We present in this work our experience with the sural fasciocutaneous flap to treat coverage defects following a lower limb posttraumatic lesion. This work is a review of the fasciocutaneous sural flaps carried out in different centres between 2000 and 2005. The series consist of 14 patients, 12 men and 2 women with an average age of 38 years (23–54) and with a medium follow-up time of 2 years (12–48 months). In all of the cases, aetiology was a lower limb injury being the most frequent the distal tibial fracture (eight patients), followed by sequelae from Achilles tendon reconstruction (two patients), fracture of the calcaneus (two patients) and osteomyelitis of the distal tibia (two patients) secondary to an open fracture. Associated risk factors in the patients for performing a fasciocutaneous flap were diabetes (1 case) and cigarette smoking (4 cases).

The technique is based on the use of a reverse-flow island sural flap with the superficial sural artery dependent on perforators of the peroneal arterial system. The anatomical structures which constitute the pedicle are the superficial and deep fascia, the sural nerve, external saphenous vein, superficial sural artery together with an islet of subcutaneous cellular tissue and skin.

The flap was viable in 13 of 14 patients. Only in one case, a diabetic patient, the graft failed. No patient showed signs of infection. Slight venous congestion of the flap occurred in two cases. No further surgical intervention of the donor site was required because of morbidity. In two cases partial necrosis of the skin edges occurred which resolved satisfactorily with conservative treatment.

The sural fasciocutaneous flap is useful for the treatment of complex injuries of the lower limbs. Its technical advantages are: easy dissection with preservation of more important vascular structures in the limb, complete coverage of the soft tissue defect in just one operation without the need of microsurgical anastomosis. All of that results in a well vascularised cutaneous islet and thus a reliable flap

Introduction: Scaphoid fractures are the most common carpal fractures, mainly affects young man.

The fixation of the displaced fractures is well accepted, but more controversy is seen with the fixation of nondisplaced fractures.

Surgery offers less cast time, and faster return to daily and sports activities.

MATERIAL AND Methods: We present 20 patiens (17 man- 3 woman), mean age 31 years old, that sustained a nondisplaced scaphoid fracture.

Surgical treatment was performed with a volar percutaneous fixation with a Herbert canulated screw. Patients were casted for 1–2 weeks and then rehabilitation was started.

Results: 60% of the fractures were produced after low energy trauma.

Functional evaluation 2 months postoperative were flexion 60°, extension 55°, radial deviation 21, ulnar deviation 18°.

Patients returned to sports activities at 11 weeks and at 13 weeks to their previous work.

Time to bone union was 9 weeks

In 5 cases pain in the place of the surgical scar were present, we had one case of sensitive branch lesion.

Conclusions: The percutaneous fixation of the nondisplaced scaphoid fractures with a Herbert screw allowed a fast functional recovery, good union rate and few complications.

Introduction: Degenerative disc desease is one of the most frequently encountered spinal disorders. The intervertebral disc is a complex anatomic and functional structure, which makes the development of an efficient artificial disc a challenge [1].

Based on the complexity of the anatomical structures and the nearly unknown loading conditions at the moment only contradictory knowledge exists about the kinematics after TDA and in particular the location of the center of rotation in the human lumbar spine [2].

The objective of our study was to evaluate the kinematics of the human lumbar spine and the ability of TDA to restore the native conditions in regard to range of motion (ROM), neutral zone (NZ) and center of rotation (COR).

Material and Methods: In-vitro flexibility testing on functional spinal units (FSU) out of 12 fresh frozen lumbar spines has been performed. The FSU (L2/L3 and L4/L5) were tested first in the native condition, followed by nucleotomy and partial annulus resection and also after TDA with activ L (lumbar artificial disc, Aesculap Germany).

Therefore a spinal simulator has been customized, applying pure moments for flexion/extension, lateral bending and axial rotation (+/−7.5Nm) and axial preload (FP=400N) with a defined velocity (1°/s). The instantaneous COR has been calculated based on the velocity pole method using a 3D ultrasonic motion analysis system, measuring the twelve components of motion.

Results: The TDA with activ L leads to a good restoration of ROM and NZ in all loading directions under in-vitro flexibility testing. The instantaneous COR is exemplary described for the native condition under flexion/ extension in the sagittal plane. For the native condition the COR is located in the center of the inferior vertebral endplate. After nucleotomy the COR shifts dorsally into the region of the spinal cord and a significant grade of instability has been measured.

After insertion of the lumbar artificial disc the instability can be reduced to the native grade of motion and the COR is located again in the main axis of the spinal column in the upper third of the inferior vertebra.

Conclusion: The instantaneous COR has been estimated in-vitro for the different loading situations in the human lumbar spine before and after TDA. Based on the newly introduced method further optimizations of TDA devices can be undergone in regard to the particular aspect of physiological kinematics.

Median nerve release is one of the most common procedures performed in hand surgery (classical incision or endoscopic methods), with a low complication rate, but not free of morbidity conditioning work reincorporation.

We present a comparative study between the classical technique and double-incision approach of median nerve preserving the intereminencial space.

Material and methods. A review of 155 hands in 133 patients (all operated by the same surgeon), divided in two separate groups:

– 72 hands (61 patients) operated by classical technique.

Excluding criteria: patients under 30 years-old, antecedents or symptoms of associated local pathology, trophic troubles of thenar or hypothenar eminences and recurrent carpal tunnel syndrome.

We reviewed: per-operatory neurovascular complications, difficulties in hand activity related to pillar pain at 10 and 21 days and 3 and 12 months after surgery, discomfort in the thenar-hypothenar areas (intereminencial pruritus), remaining discomfort in the area of the surgical scar at 3 and 12 months after surgery, and recurrences at 24 months.

Results: Nerve compression symptoms disappeared in all 155 hands and neither complications nor recurrences were observed at 24 months.

Pillar pain conditioning hand activity:

21 days: A-group 32 cases (44 %) %, B-group 0%

Discomfort in the thenar-hypothenar areas (inter-eminencial pruritus):

21 days: A-group 0%, B-group 15 cases (18 %)

Conclusion: Absence of pillar pain in double-incision approach and free hand activity 3-4 weeks post-operatively were obtained, only a discrete intereminencial pruritus was observed (unusual at 3 months).

We therefore consider this technique as a first choice in suitable patients as it avoids discomfort or disability. Furthermore this technique is of low risk and low cost.

Electrical stimulation techniques are utilised in orthopedics field for the treatment of pseudoarthroses; the more widespread methods are the inductive system with Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields (PEMFs). We report the results of a retrospective study, between February 1987 to February 2002, of 57 patients with pseudoarthroses of tibia (22 treated with PEMFs against 35 without this treatment). The objectives of the study have been to know the influence, the consolidation percentage and the influence of electrical simulation.

The average age was 38 years (14–89); the average follow-up 3,2 years. 17 fractures were open and 40 fractures were closed. All the fractures were affect the tibia shaft, in 19 cases extended to the articulation. For the admission to the study had not united after at less 6 month. All the patients were treated with surgery to the pseudoarthroses (looking nail in 54 cases, fixation extern in 2 cases and osteotomy to fibula in one case). Statistical analysis utilised was the SPSS program.

The results were statistically significantly (p< 0,05) in:

The consolidation with the PEMFs increase compared without this method (91% vs 83%).

Experience supports its role as a successful method of treatment for ununited fractures of the tibia.