‘Safety’ is at the centre of surgical practice with the aim of minimising the risks of complications and adverse events. Much evidence, based on either retrospective case series or prospective cohorts, concerns the frequency of adverse events. There may be a temptation to describe a procedure as ‘safe’ if no – or few – serious adverse events (the numerator) have occurred out of a number of procedures performed (the denominator). In 1983, Hanley and Lippman-Hand described a simple algorithm to calculate the 95% upper Confidence Interval for data sets in which the numerator is zero (ie series in which there no adverse events). Paediatric orthopaedics suffers from small datasets which may make its researchers especially prone to the erroneous attribution of procedures being ‘safe’. The aim of the current study was to formally assess the evidence on which paediatric orthopaedic surgical procedures are described as ‘safe’. In particular, the objective was to ascertain the proportion of studies describing a procedure as ‘safe’ which achieved a 95% upper limit Confidence Interval of risk of 5% for major adverse events. We examined all papers published by the Journal of Paediatric Orthopaedics in the previous 5 years searching for the single term ‘safe’. 84 papers were returned and 71 were considered appropriate for analysis. Of these 60 papers positively identified their intervention as ‘safe’. These papers were read in full and the number of interventions was recorded along with the rate of complication. 66 data sets were created and the 95% upper confidence interval was calculated for complication rates. Only 16 out of 66 data sets could safely predict a major complication rate of under 5%. Our work would tend to suggest that a failure to apply proper statistical tools is leading to procedures being erroneously classified as safe in the published literature

Paediatric musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders often produce severe limb deformities, that may require surgical correction. This may be challenging, especially in case of multiplanar, multifocal and/or multilevel deformities. The increasing implementation of novel technologies, such as virtual surgical planning (VSP), computer aided surgical simulation (CASS) and 3D-printing is rapidly gaining traction for a range of surgical applications in paediatric orthopaedics, allowing for extreme personalization and accuracy of the correction, by also reducing operative times and complications. However, prompt availability and accessible costs of this technology remain a concern. Here, we report our experience using an in-hospital low-cost desk workstation for VSP and rapid prototyping in the field of paediatric orthopaedic surgery. From April 2018 to September 2022 20 children presenting with congenital or post-traumatic deformities of the limbs requiring corrective osteotomies were included in the study. A conversion procedure was applied to transform the CT scan into a 3D model. The surgery was planned using the 3D generated model. The simulation consisted of a virtual process of correction of the alignment, rotation, lengthening of the bones and choosing the level, shape and direction of the osteotomies. We also simulated and calculated the size and position of hardware and customized massive allografts that were shaped in clean room at the hospital bone bank. Sterilizable 3D models and PSI were printed in high-temperature poly-lactic acid (HTPLA), using a low-cost 3D-printer. Twenty-three operations in twenty patients were performed by using VSP and CASS. The sites of correction were: leg (9 cases) hip (5 cases) elbow/forearm (5 cases) foot (5 cases) The 3D printed sterilizable models were used in 21 cases while HTPLA-PSI were used in five cases. customized massive bone allografts were implanted in 4 cases. No complications related to the use of 3D printed models or cutting guides within the surgical field were observed. Post-operative good or excellent radiographic correction was achieved in 21 cases. In conclusion, the application of VSP, CASS and 3D-printing technology can improve the surgical correction of complex limb deformities in children, helping the surgeon to identify the correct landmarks for the osteotomy, to achieve the desired degree of correction, accurately modelling and positioning hardware and bone grafts when required. The implementation of in-hospital low-cost desk workstations for VSP, CASS and 3D-Printing is an effective and cost-advantageous solution for facilitating the use of these technologies in daily clinical and surgical practice

Ponseti first advocated his treatment for idiopathic clubfoot in the early 1950's. The method has only gained popularity and widespread use since the 1990's. Despite publications showing favourable results, there is little published data scrutinising the change in modes of talipes treatment. This study sought to define the trends in treatment for Idiopathic Clubfoot in Scotland over a twelve-year period (1997 – 2008). (i) A review was performed to identify the number of publications referencing the Ponseti method over the past 40 years. (ii) A structured questionnaire was sent to all Paediatric Orthopaedic practitioners in Scotland to ascertain the treatment methods used and over the time period. (iii) Data from the National Census for number of live births were combined with that obtained from the Scottish Morbidity Record (SMR01) for number of peritalar clubfoot surgeries performed over the study period. (iv) Similar data was also obtained for non-Talipes related peritalar surgeries, and data colleceted for the number of Tibialis Anterior transfer operations for this period. Clubfoot incidence data was measured indirectly by means of sample from the database of a tertiary referral Paediatric Orthopaedic Unit. Regression analysis was used to evaluate the trends over time. Review of the literature referencing the Ponseti method over the past 40 years showed an exponential increase from the late 1990's. The survey of Clubfoot management of Paediatric Orthopaedic Surgeons in Scotland showed a marked increase in use of the method over with this period. Over this period, the number of operations for clubfoot dropped substantially, from 55 releases in 1997 to 1 release in 2008. The linear equation estimated a decrease of approximately 5 surgical releases per year (R²= 0.87, p<0.05). In Scotland, most Tibialis Anterior transfers are performed at age 3years, the frequency of the procedure has increased in the latter half of the study period. In Scotland between 1997 and 2008, the number of peritalar (posterior, medial, posteromedial release) operations used in the primary treatment of idiopathic clubfoot has dropped substantially. This correlates with a marked increase in reference to the method within the literature and increased usage of the Ponseti technique by Paediatric Orthopaedic Consultants

Pyomyositis is a primary pyogenic infection in skeletal muscle, often progressing to abscess formation. It is rare in temperate climates and generally deep-seated within the pelvis with non-specific clinical features, making diagnosis difficult. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is highly sensitive for muscle inflammation and fluid collection and with its increasing availability is now the investigation of choice. Treatment of pyomyositis abscess has traditionally been with incision and drainage or guided aspiration followed by a prolonged course of antibiotics, although there are sporadic reports of cases treated successfully with antibiotics alone. From our 20 year database of over 16000 paediatric orthopaedic admissions we identified only 3 cases with MRI-confirmed pyomyositis abscess. These were all in boys (aged 2-12) and affected the gluteal, piriformis and adductor muscles. Despite the organisms not being identified, each patient was treated successfully with a short (4-7 day) course of intravenous antibiotics followed by 2-6 weeks of oral therapy. There were no recurrences or complications and all made a full recovery. We propose that uncomplicated pyomyositis abscess in children may usually be managed conservatively without the need for open or percutaneous drainage

Objectives

Lengthening osteotomies of the calcaneus in children are in general grafted with bone from the iliac crest. Artificial bone grafts have been introduced, however, their structural and clinical durability has not been documented. Radiostereometric analysis (RSA) is a very accurate and precise method for measurements of rigid body movements including the evaluation of joint implant and fracture stability, however, RSA has not previously been used in clinical studies of calcaneal osteotomies. We assessed the precision of RSA as a measurement tool in a lateral calcaneal lengthening osteotomy (LCLO).