The majority of radial head fractures may be treated successfully by conservative means and they are often considered a benign injury. However, approximately 25% of Mason type II fractures will not have a good long term result. Pain and stiffness can be a problem and this may be a significant complaint in young active patients with pain at end range of motion. A retrospective review of a single surgeon series of 62 consecutive elbow arthroscopic arthrolyses performed in 62 patients between June 2006 and Sept 2009 was performed. Pre- and post-operative ranges of motion (ROM) were assessed and recorded along with the patient's DASH score. Patients were kept in overnight and splinted in extension. Splints were removed the following day and AROM exercises were commenced with the physiotherapist. Patients were reviewed and assessed at follow up.Introduction
Methods
Fractures of the proximal humerus represent a major osteoporotic burden. Recent developments in CT imaging have emphasized the importance of cortical bone thickness distribution in the prevention and management of fragility fractures. We aimed to experimentally define the CT density of cortical bone in the proximal humerus for building cortical geometry maps. With ethical approval we used ten fresh frozen human proximal humeri. These were stripped of all soft tissue and high resolution CT images were then taken. The humeral heads were then subsequently resected to allow access to the metaphyseal area. Using curettes, cancellous bone was removed down to hard cortical bone. Another set of CT images of the reamed specimen was then taken. Using CT imaging software and a CAD interface we then compared cortical contours at different CT density thresholds to the reference inner cortical contour of our reamed specimens. Working with 3D model representations of these cortical maps, we were able to accurately make distance comparison analyses based on different CT thresholds.Introduction
Methods
