ObjectiveTo compare the long-term survival of elderly patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) treated with surgical versus non-surgical treatment. MethodsA retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of elderly patients aged ≥70 years with ESCC who underwent esophagectomy or radiotherapy/chemotherapy at Sichuan Cancer Hospital from January 2009 to September 2017. Patients were divided into a surgical group (S group) and a non-surgical group (NS group) according to the treatment method. The propensity score matching method was used to match the two groups of patients at a ratio of 1∶1, and the survival of the two groups before and after matching was analyzed. ResultsA total of 726 elderly patients with ESCC were included, including 552 males and 174 females, with 651 patients aged ≥70-80 years and 75 patients aged ≥80-90 years. There were 515 patients in the S group and 211 patients in the NS group. The median follow-up time was 60.8 months, and the median overall survival of the S group was 41.9 months [95%CI (35.2, 48.5)], while that of the NS group was only 24.0 months [95%CI (19.8, 28.3)]. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival rates of the S group were 84%, 54%, and 40%, respectively, while those of the NS group were 72%, 40%, and 30%, respectively [HR=0.689, 95%CI (0.559, 0.849), P<0.001]. After matching, 138 patients were included in each group, and there was no statistical difference in the overall survival between the two groups [HR=0.871, 95%CI (0.649, 1.167), P=0.352]. ConclusionCompared with conservative treatment, there is no significant difference in the long-term survival of elderly patients aged ≥70 years who undergo esophagectomy for ESCC. Neoadjuvant therapy combined with surgery is still an important choice to potentially improve the survival of elderly patients with ESCC.
Osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs) are common in elderly patients with reduced bone density. Pain and loss of function after fractures have a serious impact on the patient's activities of daily living and quality of life. Management of patients with early OVCFs who choose non-surgical treatment is necessary to prevent complications, relieve pain, and improve functional status. This paper focuses on the development of OVCFs non-surgical management in many aspects, which may provide reference for the rapid recovery of OVCFs patients in the process of non-surgical management.
Objective To review the progress in the treatment of acute Achilles tendon rupture. Methods Recent literature about the treatment of acute Achilles tendon rupture was reviewed and analyzed. Results Treatments of acute Achilles tendon rupture include operative and non-operative treatments. Operative treatments include open surgery and percutaneous minimally invasive surgery. Compared with non-operative treatment, operative treatment can effectively reduce the re-rupture incidence, but it had higher complication incidences of wound infection and nerve injury. Although early functional rehabilitation during non-operative treatment could reduce the re-rupture incidence, there is no consistent orthopaedic device and guideline for functional rehabilitation. Conclusion Both operative and non-operative treatments have advantages and disadvantages for the treatment of acute Achilles tendon rupture. No consistent conclusion is arrived regarding functional recovery. Future studies should explore the strategy of early functional rehabilitation during non-operative treatment and its mechanism of promoting tendon healing.
Objective To review present situation and progress in cl inically treating floating shoulder injury. Methods Recent l iterature concerned treatment of floating shoulder injury was reviewed and analyzed in terms of anatomy, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment. Results Conservative treatment and operative treatment can get good outcome. But the value of the results was l imited, because different evaluation criteria were used in the l iterature. Conclusion There is no uniform standards about the treatment of the floating shoulder injury. Both conservative treatment and operative treatment have advantages and disadvantages, which method will be used to treat the floating shoulder injury based on local damage and the patient’s general condition.
In order to find out the causes, diagnosis, and the prevention and treatment of vascular crisis following anastomosis of small vessels, 314 cases vascular crisis from 1985 to 1997, were analyzed, in which 152 cases, suffered from tissue necrosis either total or partial, making up 48.4%. One hundred and forty-four cases underwent conservative treatment occupying 45.8% and 104 cases had tissue necrosis, occupying 68.4%. Operative exploration was done on 170 cases, occupying 54.1% and 48 cases of them suffered from necrosis, which made up 31.6% of all necrotic cases. Eighty-six cases were followed up by regular visits, ranging from 40 days to 7 years, with the finding that those who had regained normal circulation after vascular crisis recovered as well as those without crisis, and among those who did not regain normal circulation but survived with the help of collateral circulation after vascular crisis, they were usually cases of bad union, healing of wound, persistent swelling, different degree of tissue atrophy, poor recovery of sensation. It was concluded that proper use of vascular anastomosis technique and prophylactic measures preventing postoperative vascular spasm were extremely important, in the prevention of development of vascular crisis following anastomosis of small vessels. If vascular crisis did not respond well to conservative treatment, prompt surgical exploration should be undertaken.
Objective To summarize the diagnosis and treatment of fibular fracture in ankle fracture. MethodsRelevant literature at home and abroad in recent years was widely consulted, and various types of fractures were discussed and summarized according to Danis-Weber classification. ResultsConservative treatment is not an ideal treatment for type A avulsion fracture. The operation method should be determined according to the position and size of bone mass. For simple type B fracture, both conservative treatment and surgical treatment can achieve good results. When the position of type C fracture is high and does not affect the stability of ankle joint, it can be treated conservatively, while when the position is low and affects the stability of ankle joint, it needs surgical treatment. ConclusionFirst of all, whether the fibular fracture in the ankle fracture is stable or not should be determined. Whether it is treated surgically or not, the purpose is to restore the tibiofibular syndesmosis and restore the motor function of the ankle.
Objective To compare the effects of operative versus nonoperative treatment for displaced intra-articular calcaneal fractures. Methods All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of operative versus nonoperative treatment for displaced intra-articular calcaneal fractures were identified. Quality assessment and data extraction were performed by two reviewers independently. Results Four published trials involving 530 patients were included. All studies compared operative with nonoperative treatment. It was clear that operative treatment was superior to nonoperative treatment in terms of helping patients back to work, reducing problems wearing shoes, expanding the range of motion of subtalar joint, and improving the recovery of Bohler’s angle. As for foot pain, there was no difference between the two methods. Because the outcome measures varied across the trials, a meta-analysis could not be performed. Conclusions Both operative and nonoperative treatments produce comparable long-term outcomes in the treatment of displaced intra-articular calcaneal fractures. Because of the poor reporting of outcomes, it is not possible to determine if there is any significant difference in outcome measures apart from those listed above. More trials with high methodological quality are needed.
ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of unilateral rotator cuff repair on the contralateral shoulder in patients with bilateral rotator cuff tears.MethodsA clinical data of 46 patients with bilateral rotator cuff tears met the criteria between May 2016 and May 2019 was retrospectively analyzed. Of 46 patients, 23 patients underwent bilateral conservative treatment (conservation group), 23 patients underwent unilateral arthroscopic rotator cuff repair, and conservative treatment on the contralateral side (operation group). There was no significant difference in gender, age, disease duration, degree of rotator cuff tear, and comorbidities between 2 groups (P>0.05). Before operation and at 6 and 12 months after operation, the degree of the rotator cuff tear was measured by MRI, and the shoulder function was evaluated by the visual analogue scale (VAS) score, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) score, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score, and range of motion (ROM) (forward flexion, external rotation, external rotation at 90° of abduction, and internal rotation). The evaluation results of the non-surgical side of shoulders in the operation group were compared with one side of shoulders in the conservation group.ResultsAll incisions healed by first intention without any complication after operation. All patients were followed up 12 months. MRI reexamination showed that the degree of rotator cuff tear of the contralateral shoulder in the operation group increased significantly after operation (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between the operation group and the conservation group before operation (P>0.05), but the rotator cuff tear of the contralateral shoulder in the operation group was more serious than that of the conservation group at 6 and 12 months after operation (P<0.05). At 6 and 12 months after operation, the VAS score, UCLA score, and ASES score significantly improved when compared with the preoperative scores in 2 groups (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the VAS score, UCLA score, and ASES score between 2 groups before operation (P>0.05). The function scores in the conservation group were better than those in the operation group at 6 and 12 months after operation (P<0.05). There were significant differences in the ROM of shoulder between pre- and post-operation in 2 groups (P<0.05). And there was no significant difference between 2 groups at pre- and post-operation (P>0.05).ConclusionFor patients with bilateral rotator cuff tears, the unilateral rotator cuff repair can aggravate the rotator cuff tear of contralateral shoulder.
Objective To investigate the treatment method of senile patients with femoral intertrochanteric fractures and its cl inical outcomes. Methods From January 2005 to December 2007, 192 senile patients with femoral intertrochanteric fractures were treated, including 85 males and 107 females aged 65-92 years old (average 75 years old). The injury was causedby fall on walking in 106 cases, fall when riding a bicycle in 55 cases, and traffic accidents in 31 cases. According to Evans classification, there were 12 cases of type I A, 43 cases of type I B, 29 cases of type II, 24 cases of type III A, 23 cases of type III B, 26 cases of type IV, and 35 cases of type V. One hundred and fifty patients were associated with cardio-cerebrovascular diseases, 120 patients were compl icated with chronicle hypertension, 90 cases were associated with bronchitis, and 75 cases were compl icated with diabetes. The time from injury to hospital admission was 1 hour to 14 days. Among those patients, 108 were treated with conservative treatment, 68 received dynamic hip screw (DHS) fixation, and 16 underwent proximal femoral Gamma nail fixation. Results All the patients were followed up for 12-36 months (average 18 months). The fracture all reached bone union without occurrence of nonunion and delayed union. Patients could take care of themselves, and there were no occurrences of serious pains and dysfunctions. The therapeutic effect was satisfactory. The conservative treatment group: the average hospital stay length was 48 days; the average bone heal ing time was 14 weeks; 23 cases had different degrees of coxa adducta; Harris score system was adopted to evaluate hip joint function, 45 cases were graded as excellent, 31 as good, 10 as fair, and 22 as poor, and the excellent and good rate was 70.4%. DHS internal fixation group: the average operation time was 60 minutes; the average bleeding volume during operation was 200 mL, the average hospital stay length was 24 days; the average bone heal ing time after operation was 12 weeks; Harris score system was adopted to evaluate the injured hip joint function, 38 cases were graded as excellent, 21 as good, 8 as fair, and 1 as poor, and the excellent and good rate was 86.8%. Gamma nailfixation group: the average operation time was 70 minutes; the average bleeding volume during operation was 200 mL, the average hospital stay length was 14 days; the average bone heal ing time after operation was 12 weeks; Harris score system was adopted to evaluate the injured hip joint function, 11 cases were graded as excellent, 4 as good, 1 as fair, and the excellent and good rate was 93.8%. Conclusion For geriatric femoral intertrochanteric fractures, operative treatment should be performed, the preoperative preparation should be sufficient, and individual-oriented treatment method should be selected on the basis of physical conditions of patients and the types of fractures.