Children with cerebral palsy often have spasticity of both the extensors and flexors, but how and why a flexion contracture of the wrist will develop during growth is not thoroughly understood. In order to understand the muscle adaptations that occur during contracture formation, the relationship between intraoperative sarcomere length and the extent of contracture was measured in 23 children (...

Although textured silicone breast implants have been shown to reduce the incidence of capsular contracture, there is little evidence if this effect is maintained in the long term. It has been 10 years since the double-blind randomized trial in which 53 patients received either Mentor smooth (26) or textured silicone gel implants (27). Of the 14 patients who were not known to have developed a co...

BACKGROUND Breast implants have been used worldwide for more than 40 years. Despite extensive clinical experience, there is continued concern about the safety of these devices. The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy, complication rates, frequency of reoperation, and degree of patient satisfaction with different types of implants. METHODS This is a consecutive, population-based ...

OBJECTIVES Increased resistance to stretch of muscles after stroke may be the result of centrally mediated neural factors such as spasticity or local, peripheral factors such as muscle contracture or thixotropy. The aim was to investigate evidence for an abnormal thixotropic response and compare this with two other factors-contracture and spasticity-which could potentially contribute to muscle ...

PURPOSE Open release of the A1 pulley is a widely known procedure for the treatment of trigger finger. A subset of patients presents with both trigger finger and a positional contracture of the proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint. These patients usually have a long history of trigger finger or have already undergone a surgical release of the annular pulley. This study is a retrospective review...

Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)-2 is presumed to play an important role in the development of post-traumatic joint contractures. Using a rat injury model, we investigated whether treatment with ERK2 small interfering RNA (siRNA) could reduce the extent of joint capsule fibrosis after an induced injury. Rats were separated into three groups (n = 32 each): non-operated control group, ...

We examined the effects of verapamil on the in vitro caffeine and halothane tests for malignant hyperpyrexia (MH) susceptibility. Ten consecutive MH-susceptible patients were investigated according to the protocol of the European MH group. Additional tests were carried out in the presence of verapamil 10(-6) mol litre-1. In four of the 10 patients, the halothane contracture response following p...

The content validity of the Tardieu Scale and the Ashworth Scale was assessed in 27 independently ambulant children with cerebral palsy (gender: 17 males, 10 females; age: 5-9 years; Gross Motor Function Classification: level I and II). Ashworth and Tardieu Scale scores and laboratory measures of spasticity and contracture were collected from the plantarflexor muscles by 2 examiners who were bl...

The development of urethral stricture (US) or bladder neck contracture is a relatively uncommon but well described condition observed primarily in men. Despite familiarity with US disease, management remains challenging for urologists. Risk factors for the development of USs or bladder neck contracture include primary treatment modality, tobacco smoking, coronary artery disease and poorly contr...

A review was conducted of the records of fifty-five children who were admitted to the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto between 1955 and 1975 with a diagnosis of Volkmann's contracture in fifty-eight limbs. Ten patients had been transferred to this hospital with established ischaemia after Bryant's traction for a fractured femur; all had a very poor outcome. Thirteen other cases of Volkmann...