Background: Sternal fractures are rare accounting for about 3-8% of traumatic chest. There are many lines of treatments for sternal fractures which can be classified as conservative or surgical. Surgical techniques include wire fixation and sternal plating. There are no standardization of indications for each line of management. We explore if sternal reconstruction using locking titanium plates and self-tapping screws provide the patient with the best chance of proper sternal healing avoiding chronic pain and its complications and allow the patient early mobilization and rapid restoring of his normal life at its maximum. Methods: Our inclusion criteria are patients of both gender from 20 to 60 years of age presented with traumatic sternal fracture at any site or pathological fracture due to metastatic or primary tumors infiltrating the sternum. High Associated Injury Scale scores were excluded. Exclusion criteria also included patients younger than 20 years or older than 60 years. Primary outcome is post-operative pain score and is measured using numerical pain scale ranging from zero to 10 where zero means there is no pain at all and ten is the worst imaginable pain ever. Results: Sternal reconstruction using titanium plates has proven to be an efficient method of stabilization with tremendous immediate relief of pain showed by the differences between pre-operative and post-operative pain scale scores in our patients (n = 5) with Median scores being 7 and 1.5 with range being from 7 to 9 and 1 to 3 respectively (p-value = .039). Operative time range between 150 min and 90 min with median of 120 min. Extubation of patients was smooth with no events with median time of extubation being 120 min. From our experience, there were no observed wound complications except at the third patient who suffered a small wound hematoma that was resolved by gentle compressing only and needed no further intervention. Conclusion: We recommend adopting sternal reconstruction using titanium plating systems more readily encouraging even larger clinical trials on the way to a clear guidelines. Plating systems show promising results with least pain, better stability, less complications and rapid, smooth recovery.
Objectives: To evaluate the radiological characteristics of renal stones on plain X-ray film of the kidneys, ureters and bladder (KUB) area as predictors of stone fragility during shock wave lithotripsy (SWL). Patients and Methods: This prospective study included 336 patients who had a single renal pelvic stone £20 mm and were managed by SWL at 3 different centers. The patients were classified according to the radiological appearance of the stone on KUB film in terms of homogeneity, smoothness of the outline, and radiodensity in comparison to the last rib. The primary endpoint was the stone-free rate (SFR) within 3 months post-SWL. Multivariate regression analysis was used to compare the results. Results: The overall SFR was 71.43%. SFR was significantly higher in heterogeneous compared with homogenous stones (86% vs. 53%; p<0.01) and in rough compared with smooth surface calculi (77% vs. 61%, p<0.01). SFRs for stones with density less than, similar to or higher than that of the last rib were 82%, 69% and 56%, respectively (p<0.01). Multivariate analysis showed a positive proportional relationship between stone fragility (SWL outcome) and one or more favorable radiological criteria. Conclusion: The radiological characteristics of renal calculi could predict their fragility after SWL. Stones which were heterogeneous, rough, or less dense than the last rib on KUB film were more likely to disintegrate during SWL.
Background A minimally invasive approach has become standard for mitral valve surgery. The periareolar approach has grown in popularity regarding the cosmesis for patients. We have adopted a new modification to the periareolar approach: the periareolar minimally invasive (PAMI) technique. The objectives of the current study are to test the hypothesis that the PAMI approach is more feasible and safer than the inframammary approach in addition to identify risk factors and assess outcomes of both periareolar and inframammary approach. Methods A randomized controlled trial of 3 months compared the PAMI technique to the inframammary approach for minimally invasive cardiac surgery. Results A total of 102 patients were enrolled and randomized into two groups: 53 received minimally invasive cardiac surgery through the periareolar approach, and 49 were the control group using the inframammary approach. Using intention-to-treat analysis, the periareolar approach was superior to the inframammary approach in surgical site infection (two cases in comparison to 8 with P = 0.004), and the number needed to treat for effectiveness was 8. No early deaths occurred, 97 cases (95.1%) needed no reoperation, and 5 cases (4.9%) were reopened for bleeding. The primary endpoints compared were the duration of procedure, duration of mechanical ventilation, amount of bleeding, ICU stay, and hospital stay. We found no statistically significant differences between the groups. At 3 months, the secondary endpoints evaluated were the rate of surgical site infection, respiratory complications, groin complications, pericardial effusion, breast hematoma, and cosmoses using a Likert scale. We found no statistically significant difference between the groups, except for surgical site infection (P = 0.004) and cosmesis (P< 0.001). Conclusions The results of this PAMI trial are suggestive that the PAMI technique is most probably applicable for the right side of the heart, such as in atrial septal defect closure, tricuspid disease, and mitral valve surgery. Trial registration PAMI Trial NCT04726488 Registered January 27, 2021
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