Unhealed Fractures Research Articles

Soft-tissue reconstruction of below-knee defects

The stable closure of an indolent wound below the knee may require the placement of well vascularized flap tissue. Recent advancements in axial and microvascular flap transfer have nearly obviated the use of the cumbersome traditional cross-leg flap. Thirty-two flaps in 25 below-knee defects illustrate a variety of surgical options. Closed stable wounds were achieved in 24 of the 25 defects, and bony union was accomplished in 11 of 12 unhealed fractures.

Transverse Fracture of the Temporal Bone

Six cases of transverse temporal bone fracture were studied histologically. Three of the six cases were involved in delayed posttraumatic fatal meningitis. Their histological findings revealed incomplete healing reaction along the fracture line connecting the infected middle ear and the vestibule. It was suggested that the unhealed fracture line might be a pathway of infection into the subarachnoid space in these cases. Other three long-survived cases showed thorough healed fracture line.

Structural Analysis of Fractures in Cores from Saticoy Field, Ventura County, California

The orientation and relative positions of subsurface faults are inferred from analysis of macro- and microfractures in cores from the Saticoy field, Ventura County, California. The conclusions are reached from study of 1,044 macrofractures (joints) in 4,168 ft of core from 28 wells and from the orientations and relative abundances of microfractures (unhealed fractures in quartz grains) studied in thin sections from cores at several depths in each of six wells. The conclusions are checked by comparison with the known structure of the Saticoy field. In the main, four macrofracture sets exist along the length of the field. Their real rather than observed relative development is assessed upon consideration of the problems of determining the orientation of macrofractures in core samples. In the absence of offset criteria, an interpretation of the fracture data is made solely on geometric grounds and with the geologic knowledge available before the field discovery well was drilled. It is concluded that two of the fracture sets parallel, and therefore define, the orientations of two reverse faults. The microfractures are shown statistically to be parallel with the macrofractures. In addition, information on the abundance of microfractures is presented for 31 sample locations in six holes that are deviated both toward and away from known faults. The abundance of microfractures increases with proximity to the faults and is essentially independent of the depth of burial. The strike, dip, and position relative to drill holes of the faults predicted from the fracture data agree with the known subsurface structure.

EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF CHALCOCITE: ANNEALING AND PLASTIC DEFORMATION AT ELEVATED TEMPERATURES

The recrystallization behavior and deformation of synthetic chalcocite (Cu2S) in the temperature range 400–725 °C was studied microscopically after the compound was annealed in evacuated silica glass capsules and heated under differential pressures in sealed gold capsules. The temperature of recrystallization and grain growth ascribed to the hexagonal cubic inversion, at sulfur vapor pressures much less than 1 atmosphere, was determined at 465 ± 5 °C, with annealing time of [Formula: see text].Experiments involving differential pressures of 8 000 p.s.i. show that chalcocite in the solid state becomes considerably more mobile above 563 ± 10 °C and can readily be injected as a plastic mass to form veins without preservation of deformational textures.Natural bornite and natural galena may also be injected under differential pressure at 640 °C, but some unhealed fractures remain. Flow structure is well-preserved in galena and, under certain conditions, in bornite.Mixtures of bornite and pyrite flowed and recrystallized to chalcopyrite and bornite with exsolved chalcopyrite. No evidence of flowage remained.Chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite are resistant to injection under similar differential pressures and temperatures.

Intra-abdominal hemorrhage after electroshock therapy.

THE advent of thiopental-succinylcholine anesthesia for electroshock therapy has broadened considerably the indications for this mode of treatment. Patients with cardiovascular disease, recent unhealed fractures, pulmonary tuberculosis or hyper-insulinism were formerly considered major risks for shock treatment. These are not taken as positive contraindications at present. Saltzman et al.1 reported 38,000 treatments without serious complications. In view of this therapeutic achievement we are presenting a case illustrating the development of circulatory collapse after shock treatment.Case ReportW.G. (C.H. 59–3144), a 51-year-old man with recurrent depressions since the age of 18, had received a series of electroshock treatments since 1948 . . .