Percutaneous physiodesis is an established technique for treating mild leg-length discrepancy and problems of expected extreme height. Angular deformities resulting from incomplete physeal arrest have been reported, and little is known about the time interval from percutaneous physiodesis to actual physeal arrest. This procedure was carried out in ten children, six with leg-length discrepancy and four with expected extreme height. Radiostereometric analysis was used to determine the three-dimensional dynamics of growth retardation. Errors of measurement of translation were less than 0.05 mm and of rotation less than 0.06°.

Physeal arrest was obtained in all but one child within 12 weeks after physiodesis and no clinically-relevant angular deformities occurred.

This is a suitable method for following up patients after percutaneous physiodesis. Incomplete physeal arrest can be detected at an early stage and the procedure repeated before corrective osteotomy is required.

Introduction The aim of this study was to describe the migration pattern of the Exeter stem after revision with morsellised allograft bone and cement, to evaluate if restricted weight bearing had any influence on migration, and to measure, before and after revision, the quality of life comparing it to primary cemented hip arthroplasties.

Methods Forty-one consecutive stem revisions were followed by radiostereometry (RSA, 1. Selvik 1989). The accuracy of the RSA set-up was between 0.3 mm and 0.7 mm. The surgical procedure described by the Exeter group (2. Gie 1993) was used. All were first time revisions for aseptic loosening and all patients had had their primary arthroplasty for osteoarthritis. Bone stock deficiency was classified according to Gustilo and Pasternak. Sixteen were type I, 20 type II, five type III but none was classified as type IV. The Nottingham Health Profile was used to measure quality of life before and after revision.

Results All stems migrated distally and most of them also migrated medially or laterally and posteriorly. Migration was still observed in one third of stems between 1.5 and two year follow-ups. At two years stem subsidence averaged 2.5 mm, medial or lateral migration averaged 1.2 mm and posterior migration averaged 2.9 mm. No correlation to the pre-operative bone stock deficiency was observed. Between two and five years only marginal migration occurred in 12 of the 15 stems followed for five years. No differences in the migration pattern were detected when free weight bearing was allowed immediately after revision in hips without intra-operative skeletal complications compared to when restricted weight bearing was practiced. Most migration occurs within the first two weeks after surgery. NHP scales for pain, physical mobility, sleep and energy scales improved significantly. NHP scores were in all six scales comparable to those of primary arthroplasties. No rerevision was performed and no stem had radiographic sings of loosening.

Conclusions Most migration occurred early after revision and decreased gradually. Marginal migration after two years does not deteriorate the results during the first five years after surgery. Quality of life (patient outcome) after revision with impacted morsellised allograft bone and cement was comparable to that of primary arthroplasties.

In relation to the conduct of this study, one or more of the authors is in receipt of a research grant from a non-commercial source.

Aim of many surgical operations on the spine is very often to achieve a solid fusion between two or more vertebrae (arthrodesis). Describing lumbar spine mobility radiographically has been determined to be very imprecise with measurement errors of three to six mm in the sagittal plane. Using roentgen stereophotogrammetric analysis (RSA) it is possible to perform clinical kinematic lumbar studies with high accuracy. Many experimental studies have presented basic data on the stabilising implant effect in human cadaver lumbar spines, but no study compared the in vivo stabilising effect in different types of implant.

The RSA was performed in a radiographic set-up with two 40° angulated roentgen tubes with simultaneous exposures. A combined reference plate and calibration device with 0.8 mm tantalum balls at known positions was situated between the patient and the uniplanar film cassette, enabling simultaneous calibration and patient examination. At each RSA the patients were examined in supine and erect positions without corset. The translatory movements, induced by the change in position, of the 0.8 mm tantalum balls implanted into the fused vertebrae were calculated by computed data processing. These translations visualised the movements of the most proximal vertebra of the fusion in relation to the most distal.

The present study has demonstrated the in vivo stability of lumbar fusion augmented with transpedicular screws to be adequate. Sagittal translation seems to be easier to elicit than movements along the other three-dimensional axes. A widely decompressed and destabilised vertebra without screw fixation increases the risk for persisting intervertebral translations. The RSA technique described seems to be a good way for comparing the in vivo behaviour of different implant systems

From 1970 to 1980 cemented metal-on-plastic total hip replacement was performed on 799 hips with primary osteoarthritis using one surgical technique. At the 10- to 20-year follow-up there had been 97 revisions for mechanical loosening. Univariate survivorship analysis showed that an increased risk of revision was associated with male gender, young age at primary THR, the Brunswik and Lubinus snap-fit prostheses with large femoral heads (as compared with the Charnley prosthesis), and varying experience of the surgeon. Multivariate statistical analysis showed a three-fold increased risk of revision for men (p < 0.0001), an increase in relative risk of 1.8 per 10 years younger at surgery (p < 0.0001), a fivefold increase in risk for the Brunswik prosthesis (p < 0.0001) and a twofold increase for the Lubinus prosthesis (p = 0.0067). Inexperience of the surgeon, however, was not validated as a risk factor. The study shows that the true risk factors for revision can be identified accurately by combining univariate survivorship and multivariate statistical analyses.

We studied the rate of revision in 84 consecutive total hip replacements performed for failed osteosynthesis of femoral neck fractures and compared it with that for primary arthroplasty for osteoarthritis. The age and sex adjusted risk of prosthetic failure was 2.5 times higher after failure of fixation, but all the excess risk was in patients over 70 years of age. There were radiographic signs of loosening of the femoral component at five to 12 years after secondary arthroplasty in six of 33 survivors. In general, the results of secondary replacement were no worse than those obtained after primary arthroplasty for femoral neck fracture. We consider that internal fixation should be the primary procedure: total hip replacement is a safe secondary procedure when osteosynthesis fails.

During the 11-year-period from 1970 to 1980, 799 total hip arthroplasties with metal-on-plastic prostheses were performed for primary osteoarthritis. In all cases high viscosity cement was used, but not under pressure; acetabular cartilage was removed, but the femoral canal was not plugged. The rate of revision and risk factors were evaluated by survivorship analysis. The overall cumulative revision rates were 11%, 14% and 19% after 8, 10, and 14 years respectively. When prophylactic antibiotics were not used, there was a significant risk of revision for infection. The risk of revision for mechanical loosening of both the acetabular and femoral components was significantly increased for men, younger patients, and if a snap-fit prosthesis with a 35 mm head and short wedged stem was used. The survivorship findings were validated by multivariate statistical analysis.