{
  "abstract": "We present two Type 3B open fracture cases with critical bone loss in the upper extremity: a 9 cm ulnar defect and 8.5 cm distal humerus defect treated with vascularized fibula graft 6 and 21 days postinjury, respectively. Both patients had complete healing of soft tissues, no known complications, and returned to heavy duty labor within 3 and 5 months of injury. Although the use of vascularized fibula graft is well described, the novelty of our cases lies in its use as the initial attempt at definitive fixation of acute upper extremity trauma with critical bone loss, rather than as a salvage procedure following nonunion or infection. Critical bone loss following upper extremity trauma is rare and challenging. The vascularized fibula graft is ideal for these cases and should be considered for acute, single-stage reconstruction of traumatic upper extremity bone defects to achieve maximal outcomes in the shortest time.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Plastic Surgery Cleveland Clinic Florida Weston Florida USA clevelandclinic.org.",
    "Department of Plastic Surgery Broward Health Medical Center Fort Lauderdale Florida USA browardhealth.org.",
    "Department of Orthopedic Surgery Broward Health Medical Center Fort Lauderdale Florida USA browardhealth.org.",
    "Vanguard Plastic Surgery Fort Lauderdale Florida USA."
  ],
  "article_type": "case study",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Brian Chen",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-6867-5299"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Lindsey Herrod"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Mayo Hotta"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Jorge L Rocha"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Martin I Newman",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3810-5727"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        3
      ],
      "name": "James W Fletcher"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2jyj18031yxw8.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1155/cro/2860926",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13715484",
  "id": "2jyj18031yxw8",
  "issns": [
    "2090-6749",
    "2090-6757"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42953319",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Article"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Case Report"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2713|Bone fractures and treatments"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7224103733",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13715484?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13715484",
  "pmid": "42953319",
  "published": "2026-10-28",
  "publisher": "Wiley",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2jyj18031yxw8.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-31T00:20:40Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42953319",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42953319"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-01T12:22:46Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13715484",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1155/cro/2860926"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2713|Bone fractures and treatments",
      "subfield": "epidemiology-public-health"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Vascularized Fibula for Early Management of Upper Extremity Trauma With Critical Bone Loss: A Report of Two Cases.",
  "title_text": "Vascularized Fibula for Early Management of Upper Extremity Trauma With Critical Bone Loss: A Report of Two Cases.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-01T12:22:46Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2jyj18031yxw8",
  "venue": "Case reports in orthopedics",
  "versions": []
}