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We retrospectively reviewed 107 diabetic patients who received a split thickness skin graft (STSG) for treatment of a non-healing diabetic foot or leg ulcer to describe healing times based on patient characteristics, comorbidities or complications. The minimum follow-up was 6 months from the time of STSG application. The mean time to healing among all patients was 5.1 weeks (3 to 16 weeks). The mean healing time for patients with complications was 12.0 weeks (10 to 16 weeks) while the mean healing time for those without complications was 4.9 weeks (3 to 10 weeks). Overall complication rate was 2.8%. Patients with a STSG take of less than 95% had a mean healing time of 7.9 weeks compared to 4.8 weeks for those with a STSG take of 100% (p<0.001). The use of autologous STSG for treatment of non-healing diabetic foot and leg wounds is a viable method for soft tissue closure and may present a low complication rate and a satisfactory rate of healing.

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BackgroundFirst metatarsophalangeal joint (MTPJ) arthrodesis has been an effective surgical entity when indicated, but a range of severe to mild complications can occur from this procedure. Patients with diabetes mellitus have an increased risk in surgical complications, most commonly associated with soft tissue and bone healing, when compared to non-diabetic patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the complication rates of first MTPJ arthrodesis in diabetic patients and compare them to the existing complication rates for the procedure.MethodsA retrospective chart review was done on 76 diabetic patients, from June 2002 to August 2012. Thirty-two males and 44 females were included in the study. The authors evaluated many variables that could impact postoperative complications, including age, gender, bone graft incorporation, hemoglobin A1c, tobacco use, body mass index, peripheral neuropathy, hallux extensus, hallux interphalangeal arthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis, and compared them with the complication findings. Patient follow-up was no less than 24 months.ResultsOverall, approximately two-thirds of the patients had no complications and 35.5% of patients had at least one mild or moderate complication. Of the non-union and mal-union complications, 80 and 70% had peripheral neuropathy, respectively. One hundred percent of the patients that had mal-positions or hardware failure also had peripheral neuropathy. No severe complications were seen during follow-up. Only two of the moderate complications needed revisions, and the rest of those with moderate complications were asymptomatic.ConclusionIn conclusion, first MTPJ arthrodesis is overall an effective and beneficial procedure in patients with diabetes mellitus. Diabetic patients with peripheral neuropathy have an increased risk for mild and moderate complications.

With patients undergoing first time 1st metatarsophalangeal joint arthrodesis using graft material when it was required to fill cystic bone voids, we retrospectively compared the time to fusion (clinical and radiographic), and non-union rate between the patient’s own bone autograft (n = 62) versus a mesenchymal stem cell impregnated allograft group (n = 51). A third control group (n = 52) was included in which an end-to-end arthrodesis was performed and no graft interposition was used or necessary. The non-union rate was 4% (n = 2) in the control group, 5.9% (n = 4) in the autograft group, and 9.5% (n = 5) in the mesenchymal stem cell allograft group. The time for radiographic fusion was 6.46 weeks for the control group, 6.52 weeks for the autograft group, and 6.53 weeks for the mesenchymal stem cell allograft group. The difference in time to clinical and radiographic union and the non-union rate were not found to be statistically significant among all 3 groups. Patient comorbidities and their possible effects on union rates were also analyzed within the populations. Some comorbidities had statistically significantly non-unions within the population, notably smoking (p = 0.024) and Rheumatoid arthritis (p = 0.001), however the populations were fairly small. The use of allogeneic bone graft impregnated with mesenchymal stem cells yields a similar fusion rate as with the use of autologous bone graft harvested from the surrounding area. The allograft impregnated with mesenchymal stem cells is a viable alternative yielding similar results when local autogenous bone graft is not available, not obtainable, or conditions warrant its use.