The aims of this study were to report functional outcomes of salvage procedures for patients with cerebral palsy (CP) who have chronic dislocation of the hip using validated scoring systems, and to compare the results of three surgical techniques. We reviewed 37 patients retrospectively. The mean age at the time of surgery was 12.2 years (8 to 22) and the mean follow-up was 56 months (24 to 114). Patients were divided into three groups: 14 who underwent proximal femoral resection arthroplasty (PFRA group 1), ten who underwent subtrochanteric valgus osteotomy (SVO group 2), and 13 who underwent subtrochanteric valgus osteotomy with resection of the femoral head (SVO with FHR group 3). All patients were evaluated using the Caregiver Priorities and Child Health Index of Life with Disabilities (CPCHILD) and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL). Significant improvements occurred in most CPCHILD and PedsQL subsection scores following surgery in all patients, without significant differences between the groups. There were 12 post-operative complications. Less severe complications were seen in group 1 than in groups 2 and 3. Salvage surgery appears to provide pain relief in patients with CP who have painful chronic dislocation of the hip. The three salvage procedures produced similar results, however, we recommend the use of PFRA as the complications are less severe. Take home message: Salvage surgery can be of benefit to patients with CP with chronic painful hip dislocation, but should be limited to selected patients considering complications. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2016;98-B:137–43

Aim:. Audit of the outcome of subcapital osteotomy for a series of cases of severe unstable slipped capital femoral epiphysis. Method:. 57 cases of unstable severe slipped capital femoral epiphysis were operated on by a single surgeon between 2000 and 2011. The procedure was performed through the anterior abductor sparing approach. Patients have been followed up prospectively and the results are presented at average follow up is 6.4 years with a minimum of 18 month follow to include all risks of avn. Results:. There were 35 males (average age 13.85 years) and 22 females (average age 12.4 years). Three syndromic cases, 2 Trisomy 21 (with no avn) and one pituitary/corpus callosum agenesis (developed avn) were included. 5 patients (8.7%) developed avn, one syndromic, another with noted avn on pre-operative MRI and the third with partially healed growth plate. Excluding these patients the avn rate was 2/54 (3.7%). Re-operations were performed on the avn group including two head neck debridements and valgus osteotomy, one head neck debridement alone and one arthrodesis. One patient is awaiting debridement and valgus osteotomy. One patient developed chondrolysis and has had no intervention 6 years. 2 patients developed asymptomatic heterotopic bone ossification and the incidence of lateral cutaneous nerve symptoms was 35% none requiring intervention. Leg length difference was less than 1 cm in those patients who did not develop avn. Conclusion:. This single surgeon audit shows lower risk of avn than and strengthens the argument for referral to specific centres for such conditions. Level of evidence: IV

Purpose of the study is to investigate the outcome of the patients with Perthes disease who have had a surgical dislocation of their hip for the treatment of resultant symptoms from the disease process. Retrospective review of consecutive patients treated with surgical dislocation of the hip for Perthes disease. Review of clinical case notes and radiological imaging. Patient outcome was assessed at follow-up. Between 2010 and 2015, 31 cases of surgical hip dislocation were performed for Perthes disease at our institution by 2 senior surgeons. Age range at time of surgery was 12–33. Male:female ratio was 13:18; right:left ratio was 15:17. Age at the time of Perthes diagnosis was between 3 and 13 years, with 3 diagnosed retrospectively. Mean follow-up was 18months. All patients had an EUA and arthrogram while 61.3%(19/31) had previous surgery for Perthes. 71%(22/31) required a labral repair, 6.5%(2/31) had a peri-acetabular osteotomy at the time of surgery and 3.2%(1/31) required a proximal femoral valgus osteotomy. 22.5%(7/31) required microfracture (femoral head or acetabulum): all of whom had evidence of contained area of degenerative changes on preoperative MRI. 64.5%(20/31) had the trochanteric screws removed. Complications included 1 greater trochanter non-union, 1 pain secondary to suture anchor impinging on psoas tendon, 1 AVN leading to early THR 12 months post-op. Another 2 had further deterioration of degenerative changes and pain leading to THR 18 and 24 months post-op. All 3(9.7%) had microfracture at the time of the dislocation for established degenerative change and also required custom made prostheses. Surgical hip dislocation is an option in treating Perthes patient with resultant symptoms such as impingement. Improved outcome is seen in patients who are younger with a congruent hip joint in contrast to those with established degenerative change evident on MRI / intraoperatively and have an arrow shaped femoral head

Aims

Perthes’ disease (PD) often results in femoral head deformity and leg length discrepancy (LLD). Our objective was to analyze femoral morphology in PD patients at skeletal maturity to assess where the LLD originates, and evaluate the effect of contralateral epiphysiodesis for length equalization on proximal and subtrochanteric femoral lengths.

Aim. Shelf acetabuloplasty is part of the armamentarium for the treatment of Legg-Perthes-Calve disease. Surgeons have used it to increase the anterolateral cover of the deformed head in advanced stages of the disease. However, others, including the senior author, advocate its use for containment of the diseased femoral head earlier in the disease, for both the prevention of further femoral head extrusion and as an aid in the remodelling process. The current study presents the results of this procedure performed from August 1999 to February 2010. Method. Full sets of x-rays were available for 44 patients (45 hips). Three other bilateral cases were treated with a unilateral shelf. Results. This series includes 34 boys and 10 girls with a mean age at diagnosis of 7.5 years (range 3.9 to 15.3). The average time to heal was 37.6 months (range 12–62.4). Over 80% of the hips were Elizabethtown stages 1 and 2 and almost 70% were Herring B at the time of surgery. However, 66% presented with more than two head-at-risk signs. Reimer's migration index and the deformity index were measured on initial, preoperative, postoperative and healed x-rays. The average deformity index at those four time points was significantly related to their final Stulberg classification. CE angles increased and Sharp angles decreased significantly as a result of treatment. Although many shelf grafts showed progressive resorption, the overall acetabular depth increased. At the healed stage, 82.2% of patients were Stulberg 3 or less, denying any pain and with full range of movement whilst 17.8% were classified as Stulberg 4. One of them required a Sugioka valgus osteotomy due to continuous pain. Conclusion. Shelf acetabuloplasty should be considered not only a salvage procedure but also indicated for the containment of extruded hips in earlier stages of Perthes disease

Aims

The aim of this study was to evaluate the epidemiology and treatment of Perthes’ disease of the hip.

Aims

The Fassier Duval (FD) rod is a third-generation telescopic implant for children with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI). Threaded fixation enables proximal insertion without opening the knee or ankle joint. We have reviewed our combined two-centre experience with this implant.

We reviewed 34 knees in 24 children after a double-elevating osteotomy for late-presenting infantile Blount’s disease. The mean age of patients was 9.1 years (7 to 13.5).

All knees were in Langenskiöld stages IV to VI. The operative technique corrected the depression of the medial joint line by an elevating osteotomy, and the remaining tibial varus and internal torsion by an osteotomy just below the apophysis. In the more recent patients (19 knees), a proximal lateral tibial epiphysiodesis was performed at the same time.

The mean pre-operative angle of depression of the medial tibial plateau of 49° (40° to 60°) was corrected to a mean of 26° (20° to 30°), which was maintained at follow-up. The femoral deformity was too small to warrant femoral osteotomy in any of our patients. The mean pre-operative mechanical varus of 30.6° (14° to 66°) was corrected to 0° to 5° of mechanical valgus in 29 knees. In five knees, there was an undercorrection of 2° to 5° of mechanical varus. At follow-up a further eight knees, in which lateral epiphysiodesis was delayed beyond five months, developed recurrent tibial varus associated with fusion of the medial proximal tibial physis.

Proximal femoral varus osteotomy improves the biomechanics of the hip and can stimulate normal acetabular development in a dysplastic hip. Medial closing wedge osteotomy remains the most popular technique, but is associated with shortening of the ipsilateral femur.

We produced a trigonometric formula which may be used pre-operatively to predict the resultant leg length discrepancy (LLD). We retrospectively examined the influence of the choice of angle in a closing wedge femoral osteotomy on LLD in 120 patients (135 osteotomies, 53% male, mean age six years, (3 to 21), 96% caucasian) over a 15-year period (1998 to 2013). A total of 16 of these patients were excluded due to under or over varus correction. The patients were divided into three age groups: paediatric (< 10 years), adolescent (10 to 16 years) and adult (> 16 years). When using the same saw blades as in this series, the results indicated that for each 10° of angle of resection the resultant LLD equates approximately to multiples of 4 mm, 8 mm and 12 mm in the three age groups, respectively.

Statistical testing of the 59 patients who had a complete set of pre- and post-operative standing long leg radiographs, revealed a Pearson’s correlation coefficient for predicted versus radiologically observed shortening when using a wedge of either 10° or 20° of 0.93 (p <  0.001). The 95% limits of agreement from the Bland–Altman analysis for this subgroup were –3.5 mm to +3.3 mm. It has been accepted that a 10 mm discrepancy is clinically acceptable.

This study identified a geometric model that provided satisfactory accuracy when using specific saw blades of known thicknesses for this formula to be used in clinical practice.

Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2014;96-B:1124–9

We have tested the reliability of a recently reported classification system of hip morphology in adolescents with cerebral palsy in whom the triradiate cartilage was closed. The classification is a six-grade ordinal scale, based on the measurement of the migration percentage and an assessment of Shenton’s arch, deformity of the femoral head, acetabular deformity and pelvic obliquity.

Four paediatric orthopaedic surgeons and four physiotherapists received training in the use of the classification which they applied to the assessment of 42 hip radiographs, read on two separate occasions. The inter- and intra-observer reliability was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient and found to be excellent, with it ranging from 0.88 to 0.94. The classification in our study was shown to be valid (based on migration percentage), and reliable. As a result we believe that it can now be used in studies describing the natural history of hip displacement in cerebral palsy, in outcome studies and in communication between clinicians.

We reviewed the long-term radiological outcome, complications and revision operations in 19 children with quadriplegic cerebral palsy and hip dysplasia who underwent combined peri-iliac osteotomy and femoral varus derotation osteotomy. They had a mean age of 7.5 years (1.6 to 10.9) and comprised 22 hip dislocations and subluxations. We also studied the outcome for the contralateral hip. At a mean follow-up of 11.7 years (10 to 15.1) the Melbourne cerebral palsy (CP) hip classification was grade 2 in 16 hips, grade 3 in five, and grade 5 in one. There were five complications seen in four hips (21%, four patients), including one dislocation, one subluxation, one coxa vara with adduction deformity, one subtrochanteric fracture and one infection. A recurrent soft-tissue contracture occurred in five hips and ten required revision surgery.

In pre-adolescent children with quadriplegic cerebral palsy good long-term outcomes can be achieved after reconstruction of the hip; regular follow-up is required.

Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2013;95-B:259–65.

Avascular necrosis is a serious complication of slipped capital femoral epiphysis and is difficult to treat. The reported incidence varies from 3% to 47% of patients. The aims of treatment are to maintain the range of movement of the hip and to prevent collapse of the femoral head. At present there are no clear guidelines for the management of this condition and treatment can be difficult and unrewarding.

We have used examination under anaesthesia and dynamic arthrography to investigate avascular necrosis and to determine the appropriate method of treatment. We present 20 consecutive cases of avascular necrosis in patients presenting with slipped capital femoral epiphysis and describe the results of treatment with a mean follow-up of over eight years (71 to 121 months). In patients who were suitable for joint preservation (14), we report a ten-year survivorship of the hip joint of 75% and a mean Harris hip score of 82 (44 to 98).

In 1994, a register for cerebral palsy and a health-care programme were started in southern Sweden with the aim of preventing dislocation of the hip in children with cerebral palsy. It involved all children with cerebral palsy born in 1992 or later.

None of the 206 affected children born between 1992 and 1997 has developed a dislocation following the introduction of the prevention programme. Another 48 children moved into the area and none developed any further dislocation. Of the 251 children with cerebral palsy, aged between five and 11 years, living in the area on January 1, 2003, only two had a dislocated hip. One boy had moved into the area at age of nine with a dislocation and a girl whose parents chose not to participate in the programme developed bilateral dislocation. One boy, whose condition was considered to be too poor for preventative surgery, developed a painful dislocation of the hip at the age of five years and died three years later.

Eight of 103 children in a control group, consisting of all children with cerebral palsy living in the area between 1994 and 2002, and born between 1990 and 1991, developed a dislocation of the hip before the age of six years.

The decreased incidence of dislocation after the introduction of the prevention programme was significant (p < 0.001). Dislocation of the hip in cerebral palsy remains a serious problem, and prevention is important. Our screening programme and early intervention when lateral displacement of the femoral head was detected appear to be successful.

This study evaluated the results of a physeal-sparing technique of intra-articular anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction in skeletally immature patients, with particular reference to growth disturbance. Between 1992 and 2007, 57 children with a mean age of 12.2 years (6.8 to 14.5) underwent ACL reconstruction using the same technique. At a mean of 5.5 years (2 to 14) after surgery, 56 patients underwent clinical and radiological evaluation. At that time, 49 patients (87.5%) had reached bony maturity and 53 (95%) achieved A or B according to the IKDC 2000 classification. Four patients had stopped participation in sports because of knee symptoms, and three patients (5.4%) had a subsequent recurrent ACL injury. There was no clinical or radiological evidence of growth disturbance after a mean growth in stature of 20.0 cm (3 to 38).

This study demonstrates that ACL reconstruction sparing the physes in children is a safe technique protecting against meniscal tears and giving better results than reconstruction in adults, without causing significant growth disturbance.

We reviewed three infants with destructive osteomyelitis involving the proximal tibial epiphysis at a follow-up of eight to 22 years. All cases showed early radiographic destructive changes in the medial or lateral aspects of the epiphysis and metaphysis. Despite the ominous early appearance of the epiphysis, all cases showed spontaneous re-ossification of the epiphysis with restoration of the tibial condyle and preservation of joint congruity. The patients, however, developed a valgus or varus deformity which was treated satisfactorily with one to three proximal tibial osteotomies. The potential for regeneration of the epiphysis following infantile osteomyelitis of the proximal tibia suggests these cases should be treated expectantly with regard to joint congruity.