Purpose: Our aim was to evaluate the use of Ilizarov external fixator for ankle arthrodesis in severe post-traumatic or other ankle arthritis.

Patients and Methods: In the period of 8 years, 19 patients underwent ankle arthrodesis with the Ilizarov external fixator for severe ankle arthritis. In four patients the indication for arthrodesis was infection following failed surgical management of tibia plafond fractures, four patients had failed prior ankle arthrodesis and the rest suffered severe ankle arthritis. Eleven patients were male, eight female, with a mean age of 52 years (range 30–71 years). Seven patients had deformities greater then 10°. All had painful stiff ankle joints and 12 patients had disorder of ankle joint anatomy with significant limp. Anterior approach to the ankle joint was preferred, associated with distal fibular osteotomy. Secondary gradual corrections of postoperative deformity and additional compression at the arthrodesis site were performed with the Ilizarov system by closed manipulation. Following frame removal the arthrodesis was immobilised in a cast for a mean of 4 weeks.

Results: The mean follow-up period was 3,9 years. A solid ankle arthrodesis was achieved in 18 of the 19 cases. Failure of solid arthrodesis was detected in one patient with insufficient arthroscopic removal of articular cartilage and internal fixation was performed. In one case with major pin tract infection at the distal talus ring distal expansion of the frame was required. According to the Mazur rating system in 12 patients the results were good, in 5 patients fair and in 2 patients poor.

Conclusion: The use of Ilizarov external fixator for ankle arthrodesis provides significant interfragmentary compression forces, allows early weight bearing and post-operative adjustment of alignment of arthrodesis. This method should be considered as the treatment of choice in ankle arthrodesis, especially in revision cases and in the cases with infection around of the ankle joint.

INTRODUCTION: Osteonecrosis of the femoral head usually affects young patients and is caused by disturbance of the femoral head’s blood supply. Bone subchondral necrosis eventually leads to articular incongruity and secondary arthritis of the hip joint.

AIM: To study the adequacy and outcome of tantalum rods implantation in patients with avascular necrosis of the femoral head (up to grade III, according to Ficat’s classification)

PATIENTS AND METHOD: 25 patients with 30 affected hips (5 with bilateral lesions) have been treated, the last 5 years, by tantalum rod implantation. The mean age was 37 years and the mean time of follow up 20 months (6–48), for 24 patients. In four hips we had type III lesions and in the rest type II.

RESULTS: The postoperative evaluation included radiological and clinical (Harris Hip Score – HHS) examination. All patients with type II osteonecrosis had a statistically significant increased HHS score, 6 months and 1 year after tantalum implanting. One patient, with a type III lesion, was subjected in total hip replacement because of disease’s progression, 1 year later. The two others had serious pain relief and improved range of hip motion.

DISCUSSION: Implantation of tantalum rods can be a method of choice in treatment of early stages of AVN of the femoral head. The implant achieves decompression, supports the subchondral plate of the necrotic areas and probably induces bone re-generation. Studies in more patients and with extended follow up time will be helpful for method’s evaluation.

INTRODUCTION: Cases of aseptic non-unions in patients with a femoral shaft fracture, who have initially been subjected to internal fixation by plating, are not rare. The aim of this retrospective, polycentric study was to evaluate intramedullary nailing as method of treatment of these patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty patients with aseptic femoral shaft non-union, after plating, were treated by reamed intramedullary nailing (IMN). The type of nailing was chosen according to the type of non-union. The mean follow-up time was 30 months and for statistical analysis, the student’s t-test was used.

RESULTS: All non-unions were healed in a mean time of 7.8 months (5–18) after nailing. The mean healing time after fracture was about 18.6 months (9–54). The healing times were irrelevant to whether the fracture was open or closed, the type non-union (atrophic or hypertrophic) and the type of fracture, according the AO classification. On the contrary, the delay from the initial plating to definitive treatment (IMN) affected the healing time and the final outcome, in a statistically significant way. Healing time was increased by 34.45% when the definitive operation was performed after between 8 and 16 months compared to the ones before the 8th month and by 72.28% if the IMN was delayed to between 16 and 24 months.

DISCUSSION: In conclusion IMN can be an ideal and cost effective method in treating patients with aseptic femoral non-union, after plating failure. This definitive operation should be performed as soon as the non-union is diagnosed in order to avoid unnecessary delay in fracture healing.

Aim: To examine the in vitro effects of several non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on pro-inflammatory cytokines and PGE₂ production by interface membrane from loose endoprosthesis of hip or knee arthroplasty. Since these factors are strongly implicated in the bone resorption process and aseptic prosthesis failure we hypothesize that the probable inhibition of their production by prophylactic administration of NSAIDs, will retard these processes.

Materials and Methods: Interface membranes were harvested from ten patients who were subjected to revision surgery for aseptic total hip or knee replacement loosening and cultured for 72h in the absence or presence of therapeutic dosages of each, of aceclofenac, piroxicam, tenoxicam and indomethacin. Paracetamol was used as neutral control. In conditioned media the levels of IL-6, IL-1 (3, TNF-a and PGE2 were determined by ELISA and the data were analyzed by the Student’s t-test (significance level p< 0.05).

Results: All the tested NSAIDs caused a statistically significant decrease on IL-6 and TNF-a levels, with aceclofenac and tenoxicam to be more effective (caused decrease in 7 out of 10 samples), while they had low or controversial effect on IL-1β production, except aceclofenac that seemed to augment the IL-1β levels (statistically significant increase in 5 out of 9 samples). Finally all the tested drugs, except paracetamol, caused a marked reduction (80–99%) of PGE2 levels.

Conclusions: The stimulatory effect of IL-6 and TNF-α in the osteoclastic bone resorption process is well established. Considering the above results, the tested IMSAIDs (especially aceclofenac and tenoxicam) reduce the in vitro production of these mediators by interface membranes. Hence, it is reasonable to propose that the prophylactic treatment with these drugs could delay the process of the aseptic loosening. However, in order to support this hypothesis, more experiments are required by which the effects of them on other factors implicated in the loosening process, such as metalloproteinases, will be examined.