Onychogryphosis

Background Onychogryphosis is a nail disorder that can damage nail plates, usually caused by repeated minor trauma to the foot. Onychogryphosis of the toe is commonly seen in clinical practice; however, optimal treatment of the condition is still the subject of debate. The purpose of this study was to evaluate clinical outcomes of patients with toe onychogryphosis treated by subcutaneous flap coverage after total matricectomy. Methods In this article, we describe 12 patients who had onychogryphosis on the great toe treated by subcutaneous flap coverage after total matricectomy. There were eight men and four women, with a mean age of 63.8 years (range, 56–74 years). Results The follow-up period ranged from 4 to 108 months, with an average of 25.2 months. All of the flap reconstructions ultimately survived. Conclusions The advantage of the described technique is the avoidance of tight closure of the skin and preservation of toe length. The possible limitation of the technique is poor blood circulation to the feet.

Superiority of Roeder’s Knot for Fascial Mesh Fixation in a Cadaveric Model

Objective. This study compares the use of Roeder’s knot (1:3:1, 1 hitch, 3 winds, and 1 locking hitch) to the surgeon’s knot regarding the security of the knot and predictability of its position. Method. A polypropylene mesh was secured to the undersurface of the abdominal wall of a fresh frozen cadaver using tacks. Eight standardized transfascial sutures were performed. Four of them were secured with surgeon’s knot and the remaining 4 were tied with Roeder’s knot. A Mosquito hemostat was placed between the mesh and the stitch loop and the distance between its jaws was measured. We then created subcutaneous flap and measured the vertical distance between the knot and the anterior sheath. Results. When surgeon’s knot was used, the distance between the mesh and the stitch loop ranged between 4 and 6 mm. This distance could not be measured when Roeder’s knot was used due to inability to place hemostat between the mesh and the stitch loop. The vertical length between the anterior sheath and the surgeon knot ranged between 3 and 13 mm while remaining consistent at 2 mm when Roeder’s knot was applied. Conclusions. This study shows that Roeder’s knot is superior to the regular sliding knot in securing the mesh to the abdominal wall. It can be tightened appropriately and leads to less variation when used properly. It has many other applications that stem from its ability to be advanced with different degrees of tightness based on body habitus and the operative requirements.

Reversed cross finger subcutaneous flap: A rapid way to cover finger defects

ABSTRACTAdequate coverage of dorsal finger wounds is often a challenge. The reversed cross finger subcutaneous flap to cover defects on the dorsum of phalanx constitutes an excellent option for coverage of wounds over the middle and distal phalanges of the index, middle, ring, and small fingers. It′s an easy flap and represents our first choice to cover those defects.