The influence of limb alignment and transfemoral amputation technique on muscle capacity during gait.

Many factors influence successful outcomes following transfemoral amputation. One factor is surgical technique. In this study, the influence of limb alignment and surgical technique on a muscle's capacity to generate force was examined using musculoskeletal modeling.

Falls in a Young Active Amputee Population: A Frequent Cause of Rehospitalization?

Falls occur in up to 50% of amputees within a single year of their operation and up to 40% of these falls result in injury. However, there is a lack of data evaluating falls in a young, active amputee population despite an estimated 58% of persons living with an amputation being under the age of 65. The authors evaluated an amputee population (n = 393) with a mean age of 25.

Reoperation after combat-related major lower extremity amputations.

Objective: Complication rates leading to reoperation after trauma-related amputations remain ill defined in the literature. We sought to identify and quantify the indications for reoperation in our combat-injured patients.

Design: Retrospective review of a consecutive series of patients.

Risk factors for and results of late or delayed amputation following combat-related extremity injuries.

We studied patients with combat-related injuries that required delayed amputation at least 4 months after the initial injury due to dysfunction, persistent pain, and patient desires. Late amputations were performed 22 times in 22 patients (21 men, 1 woman) since 2003. Fourteen patients underwent transtibial amputation, 5 transfemoral amputations, 1 knee disarticulation, and 2 transradial amputations.

Imaging of synovial chondromatosis with radiologic-pathologic correlation.

Primary synovial chondromatosis represents an uncommon benign neoplastic process with hyaline cartilage nodules in the subsynovial tissue of a joint, tendon sheath, or bursa. The nodules may enlarge and detach from the synovium. The knee, followed by the hip, in male adults are the most commonly involved sites and patient population.

Heterotopic ossification following traumatic and combat-related amputations. Prevalence, risk factors, and preliminary results of excision.

Background: Although infrequently reported in amputees previously, heterotopic ossification has proven to be a common and problematic clinical entity in our recent experience in the treatment of traumatic and combat-related amputations related to Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The purpose of the present study was to report the prevalence of and risk factors for heterotopic ossification following trauma-related amputation as well as the preliminary results of operative excision.

Methods: We identified 330 patients with a total of 373 traumatic and combat-related amputations who had been managed at our centers between September 11, 2001 and November 30, 2005.

From the archives of the AFIP: Imaging of synovial sarcoma with radiologic-pathologic correlation.

Synovial sarcoma is the fourth most common type of soft-tissue sarcoma, accounting for 2.5%-10.5% of all primary soft-tissue malignancies worldwide.

Differentiating clinical and radiographic features of enchondroma and secondary chondrosarcoma in the foot.

Background: Enchondroma is the most common benign tumor of the bones of the foot. Chondrosarcoma in this area is relatively rare with malignant transformation from enchondroma occurring rarely. In contrast to similar tumors in the appendicular skeleton, it is difficult to distinguish between these two tumors when they occur in the foot.

The "floating ankle": a pattern of violent injury. Treatment with thin-pin external fixation.

The "floating ankle" is an underappreciated pattern of injury that results from violent trauma and/or blast injuries in military personnel. It is characterized by an intact ankle mortise with a distal tibia fracture and an ipsilateral foot fracture, creating instability around the ankle. This pattern of injury may be the result of the military boot, which both protects the foot from immediate amputation or further injury and renders the distal tibia susceptible to fracture at the boot top.