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Journal of Medical Case Reports
Published in: Journal of Medical Case Reports 1/2012

Open Access 01-12-2012 | Case report

Successful treatment of nonunion in severe finger injury with low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS): a case report

Authors: Michaela Huber, Lukas Prantl, Sebastian Gehmert

Published in: Journal of Medical Case Reports | Issue 1/2012

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Abstract

Introduction

Severe injuries of the hand or single fingers require immediate treatment but surgical fixation methods are limited depending on soft tissue damage. Thus, it is very common that severe soft tissue damage along with poor osteosynthetic bone fixation results in a delayed healing process or nonunion. Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) has been proven to stimulate bone formation in in vitro studies and also to significantly accelerate nonunion healing in animal studies and clinical trials but to date there are no data with respect to nonunion in phalanx fracture.

Case presentation

We report a case in which we successfully used LIPUS in a 19-year-old Caucasian man with a nonunion of his ring finger after injury and first treatment with K-wire osteosynthesis.

Conclusion

We recommend that LIPUS be considered as an option to treat nonunions in fractures of the hand, especially because it is a soft tissue conserving method with a good functional result.
Appendix
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Metadata
Title
Successful treatment of nonunion in severe finger injury with low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS): a case report
Authors
Michaela Huber
Lukas Prantl
Sebastian Gehmert
Publication date
01-12-2012
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Journal of Medical Case Reports / Issue 1/2012
Electronic ISSN: 1752-1947
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1752-1947-6-209

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