OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical effects of the microsurgical treatment for the skin-degloving injury of the whole hand or foot. METHODS: From March 1984 to October 2001, we treated 6 cases of skin-degloving injury of the whole hand and foot. In 2 cases of skin-degloving hands, one was treated with free great omentum transplantation plus skin graft, the other with pedical abdominal S-shaped skin flap as well as mid-thick skin graft. In 4 cases of skin-degloving injury of the foot, 2 cases was repaired with free latissimus dosi musculocutaneous flap, 1 case with distall-based lateral skin flap of the leg and 1 case with free tensor fasciae latae muscle flap. The flap size ranged from 7 cm x 9 cm to 22 cm x 15 cm. One case was operated on the emergency stage, the other 5 cases on the delayed stage. The delayed time ranged from 2 to 14 days with an average of 6.6 days. RESULTS: All the flaps survived. After 1-2 year follow-up, the appearance and function of the hand and the foot were good. CONCLUSION: Microsurgery technique in repairing skin-degloving injury of the whole hand and foot can achieve good results. The keys to success are thorough debridement of the recipient area, appropriate selection of the donor site, good vascular anastomosis and active postoperative rehabilitation.
Objective To provide the anatomic basis for thedesign of the intermediate dorsal neurocutaneous flap on the foot and to reportthe clinical results. Methods On 32 adult cadaver lower limb specimens perfused with red latex, the origins, diameters, courses, branches, and distributions of the intermediate dorsal cutaneous nerve of the foot and its nutrient vessels were observed. On this anatomic basis, from June 2004 to October2005, 5 flaps were developed and applied to the repair of the soft tissue defect in the feet of 4 patients. Results The intermediate dorsal cutaneous nerve of the foot was found to arise from the superficial peroneal nerve. Crossing the intermalleolar line, it was located 1.3±0.6 cm lateral to the midpoint of the line with a diameter of 2.05±0.56 mm. The nerve stem divided into branches 2.8±1.3 cm distal to the line. They distributed the dorsal skin of the second, third and fourth metatarsal and toe. On average, 5.1 perforators per specimen were identified. At least 3 nutrient vessels were always found in each. They originated from the cutaneous branches of the anterior tibial artery and the dorsalis pedis artery in the proximal end and the dorsalis metatarsal artery in the distal end. They perforated the deep fascia 4.3±0.4 cm proximal to the intermalleolar, 1.6±0.3 cm proximal to the tip of the third toe webspace and 1.5±0.3 cm proximal to the tip of the forth toe webspace, respectively. The external diameters of them were 0.82±0.13, 0.42±0.07 and 0.49±0.09 mm, respectively. The patients were followed up for 4-10 months. All theflaps survived completely. Their appearance and function were satisfactory. Conclusion The distallybased intermediate dorsal neurocutaneousflap on the foot has an abundant blood supply. This kind of flap is especially useful in repair of the soft tissue defect in the foot.
OBJECTIVE: To provide a new reconstructive method to treat refractory ulcers on the sole of the forefoot. METHODS: The reversed medial plantar flap with the medial plantar pedal artery and vein as pedicle was used to treat the refractory ulcers on the sole of the forefoot in 5 cases. The size of the flap was 3.5-5.0 cm x 4.0-5.5 cm. The deformities were corrected at the same time and the flaps were protected after operation. RESULTS: All flaps survived without complications. There was no recurrence after 6-month following-up. The patients could walk. CONCLUSION: The distal ends of medial plantar pedal artery and vein have plenty anastomoses with dorsal pedal artery and deep plantar arch. The reversed medial plantar flap has reliable blood supply by these anastomoses. The reversed medial plantar flap should be a choice in treating refractory ulcers on the sole of the forefoot.
Objective The self-defined multidisciplinary (endocrinology, vascular surgery, and orthopedics) scoring system (EMO scoring system for short) was designed. The feasibility of the EMO scoring system to guide the proximal tibial transverse transport (TTT) for diabetic foot wounds was preliminarily explored. Methods Based on the current commonly used clinical criteria for diabetic foot judgment, expert consensus, guidelines, and related research progress in the treatment of diabetic foot wounds, combined with clinical experience, a set of EMO scoring systems including endocrinology, vascular surgery, and orthopedics was formulated. The criteria for selecting conservative treatment, TTT after baseline improvement, and TTT based on scoring results was proposed. A total of 56 patients with diabetic foot wounds who were admitted between September 2017 and July 2022 and met the selection criteria was taken as the study subjects. Among them, 28 patients were treated with TTT and 28 patients were treated conservatively. The patients were graded according to the EMO scoring system, the corresponding treatment methods were selected, and the actual treatment methods and results of the patients were compared. Results The EMO scoring system was formed through literature retrieval and clinical experiences. The system included three criteria, namely endocrinology (E), macrovascular disease (M), and orthopedics (O), which were divided into multiple subtypes according to the relevant evaluation items, and finally the diabetic foot wound was divided into 8 types, which correspondingly selected TTT, TTT after baseline improvement, and conservative treatment. All 56 patients were followed up 12 months after treatment. Among them, the wound healing rate of the TTT group was 85.71% (24/28), which was higher than that of the conservative treatment group [53.57% (15/28)]. At 12 week after treatment, CT angiography showed that there were more small blood vessels in the wound and ipsilateral limb in TTT group than in the conservative treatment group. Based on the EMO scoring system, 14 of the 56 patients needed conservative treatment, 29 patients needed TTT, and 13 patients needed TTT after baseline improvement. Compared with the clinical data of the patients, the wound healing rate of the patients judged to be TTT was 75.86% (22/29), of which 21 cases were actually treated with TTT, and the healing rate was 90.48%; 8 patients were treated conservatively, and the healing rate was 37.50%. The wound healing rate of the patients judged to be conservative treatment was 92.86% (13/14), of which 1 case was actually treated with TTT, and the healing rate was 100%; 13 cases were treated conservatively, and the healing rate was 92.31%; 1 case experienced minor amputation. The wound healing rate of the patients judged to TTT after baseline improvement was only 30.77% (4/13), of which 6 cases were actually treated with TTT, and the healing rate was 66.67%; 7 cases were treated conservatively, and the healing rate was 0. Conclusion EMO scoring system can comprehensively evaluate the diabetic foot wounds, and make personalized judgment on whether TTT treatment is feasible, so as to improve the level of diabetic foot wound treatment and the prognosis of patients.
Objective To investigate the surgical methods and cl inical results of reconstructing soft tissue defects in dorsum of forefoot with distally based saphenous neurocutaneous flap of lower rotating point. Methods From January 2005 to August 2007, 6 cases of soft tissue defects in dorsum of forefoot, including 4 males and 2 females aged 28-53 years, were treated with the distally based saphenous neurocutaneous flaps of lower rotating point. The soft tissue defect was in left foot in 2 cases and in right foot in 4 cases. Five cases of soft tissue defects were caused by crush, and 1 case was caused by traffic accident. Tendons and bones were exposed in all cases. The defects after debridement were 7.0 cm × 5.0 cm to 9.0 cm × 5.5 cm in size. Emergency operation was performed in 2 cases and selective operation in 4 cases. Rotating point of the flaps was from 1 to 3 cm above medial malleolus. The size of the flaps ranged from 8.0 cm × 6.0 cm to 13.0 cm × 6.5 cm. Neuroanastomosis was performed in 2 cases of the flaps. Skin defects in donor site were repaired with thickness skin graft. Results Four cases of the transferred flaps survived completely and the other 2 cases began to swell and emerge water bl ister from the distant end of the flap after operation, which resulted in distal superficial necrosis of flaps, heal ing was achieved after change dressings and skin grafted. Skin graft in donor site survived completely in all cases. All cases were followed up from 6 to 18 months. The color and texture and thickness of theflaps were similar to reci pient site. Pain sensation and warmth sensation of the 2 flaps whose cutaneous nerve were anastomosed recovered completely, two point discrimination were 8 mm and 9 mm respectively. Sensation and warmth sensation of the 4 flaps whose cutaneous nerve were not anastomosed recovered partly. All patients returned to their normal walking and running activities and no ulceration occurred. No donor site morbidity was encountered. Conclusion Blood supply of the distally based saphenous neurocutaneous flap of lower rotating point is sufficient, the flap is especially useful for repair of soft tissue defects in dorsum of forefoot.
ObjectiveTo systematically evaluate the potential effectiveness of JinHuang powder in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). MethodsDatabases including PubMed, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CBM, WanFang data, VIP and CNKI were electronically searched from their inception to December 2013, to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about JinHuang powder for DFUs. Two reviewers screened literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted data and assessed the methodological quality of included studies, and then meta-analysis was performed by using RevMan 5.1 software. ResultsA total of 3 RCTs involving 198 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that:the JinHuang powder group were superior to the control group in total effective rate (RR=1.25, 95%CI 1.10 to 1.41, P=0.00) and the wound healing time (SMD=-3.32, 95%CI -5.69 to -0.96, P=0.00). ConclusionCurrent evidence suggests that the JinHuang powder is an effective therapeutic method for DFUs. Because of the limitations of quantity and quality of the eligible studies, large sample size studies are needed to validate the conclusion.
External fixation devices are essential tools in the field of foot and ankle reconstruction. Mastering the fundamental knowledge and skills of external fixation is crucial for the effective application of this technique. Currently, domestically produced external fixation systems for the foot and ankle can meet the needs of treating various foot and ankle traumas, deformities, and functional reconstruction. Through this special issue on “External fixation and foot and ankle reconstruction”, we provide a detailed introduction to the essential knowledge and skills that physicians must acquire to proficiently manage external fixation and foot and ankle reconstruction.
Objective To investigate the changes of transforming growth factor β1 (TGF- β1) and type Ⅱ of TGF-β-receptor (TβRⅡ) expressions in wound tissue after the treatment of diabetic foot with vaccum sealing drainage (VSD), and to analyze the mechanism of accelerating wound healing. Methods Between May 2012 and May 2016, 80 patients with diabetic foot were randomly divided into 2 groups, 40 cases in each group. After the same basic treatment, the wounds of VSD group and control group were treated with VSD and external dressing, respectively. There was no significant difference in gender, age, disease duration, body mass, foot ulcer area, and Wagner grade between 2 groups (P>0.05). The time of foundation preparation and hospitalization stay of 2 groups were recorded. The wound tissue was collected before treatment and at 7 days after treatment, and the positive indexes of TGF-β1 and TβRⅡexpressions were measured by immunohistochemical staining. Results Before skin grafting, the patients in VSD group were treated with VSD for 1 to 3 times (mean, 2 times), and the patients in control group were treated with dressing change for 1 to 6 times (mean, 4 times). The time of foundation preparation and hospitalization stay in VSD group were significantly shorter than those in control group (t=–13.546, P=0.036; t=–12.831, P=0.041). The skin grafts of both groups survived smoothly and the wound healed well. Before treatment, immunohistochemical staining results showed that the positive indexes of TGF-β1 and TβRⅡ expressions in VSD group were 5.3±2.4 and 14.0±2.6, while those in control group were 4.4±2.3 and 14.7±3.1, respectively. There was no significant difference between 2 groups (t=1.137, P=0.263; t=1.231, P=0.409). At 7 days after treatment, the positive indexes of TGF-β1 and TβRⅡ expressions in VSD group were 34.3±2.9 and 41.7±3.7, respectively, and those in control group were 5.8±2.0 and 18.1±2.5. There were significant differences between 2 groups (t=–35.615, P=0.003; t=23.725, P=0.002). Conclusion VSD can increase the expressions of TGF-β1 and TβRⅡ in diabetic ulcer tissue, promote granulation tissue growth, and accelerate wound healing.
Objective To investigate the clinical efficiency of thedistally based sural island flap and myofasciocutaneous flap in reconstruction of defect and osteomyelitic cavity of the ankle and foot. Methods From June 1997 to October 2004, 21 patients with soft tissue defects and osteomyelitis in the ankle and foot were treated with the distally based sural island flap and myofasciocutaneous flap. There were 20 males and 1 female aging from 6 to 78 years. The defect was caused by soft tissue defect trauma(18 cases) and electrical injury ( 3 cases). Among 21 patients, 17 were treated with island flaps, 4 by the myofasciocutaneous flap. The size of flaps ranged from 4 cm×5cm to 16 cm×22 cm. The donorsites were closed directly in 4 cases. Results The flaps completely survived in 21 cases and healing by first intention was achieved. After a follow-up of 36 months, no complication occurred. The color and texture of the flaps were good. The appearance and the function were satisfactory. Conclusion Distally basedsural flap is a reliable flap. This flap has rich blood supply without sacrifice of major arteries. Flap elevation is easy. It is very useful in repairing large soft tissue defects of the lower leg, the ankle and the foot, especially inrepairing deep soft tissue defects and osteomyelitic cavities .
ObjectiveTo compare effect of enterovirus (EV) 71 nucleic acid detection and EV71-IgM antibody detection on clinically diagnosis of hand-foot-mouth disease in children. MethodsRectal swabs collected from 1379 children who were clinically diagnosed from April 20, 2011 to September 10, 2011 as suspected patients with the handfoot- mouth disease were detected by fluorogenic quantitative polymerase chain reaction to conduct EV71 nucleic acid detection. Meantime, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to conduct EV71-IgM antibody detection in serum samples collected from those children. ResultsIn these 1379 cases, 79 had positive EV71 nucleic acids with a positive rate of 5.73%; while 82 cases had positive EV71-IgM antibodies with a positive rate of 5.95%. There were 32 cases with positive EV71 nucleic acid and positive EV71-IgM antibody. The rate of consistent results of two detection methods was 95.2%. The positive rates of two methods had no negligible differences (χ2=0.093, P=0.761). ConclusionCombination of EV71 nucleic acid detection and EV71-IgM antibody detection, can improve the efficiency in diagnosing hand-foot-mouth disease in children and facilitate the protection and diagnosis of the disease.