Eighty patients who sustained a fracture of the floor of the acetabulum are reviewed, and the mechanism of the injury was investigated by clinical and experimental studies. The results of the injury in fifty patients are presented, with an account of the three clinical types of acetabular fracture.

1. A series of fractures of the forearm has been treated by exceptionally rigid internal fixation with a special plate and screws.

2. The plate and screws are described.

3. The results of rigid fixation are found to be: i) reliability of union, and ii) good final function.

4. The lessons learned regarding the application of the plate and the after-treatment of the forearms are recounted.

1. Compression stress fractures are described.

2. These fractures have all been previously described in various bones but have not been associated as a clinical or radiological entity.

3. The greyhound suffers a compression stress fracture of the navicular bone. This is described with certain deductions therefrom.

1. Fifty-nine patients with fractures of the medial epicondyle of the humerus have been reviewed, of whom more than one-third also had a dislocation of the elbow.

2. The final disability has been shown to be very slight. Non-union occurs very often with conservative treatment, but gives no disability. Union can be obtained by fixation with a Pidcock pin.

3. Operative treatment is advised only when the fragment is included in the joint. It is suggested that the best position of the elbow in patients treated conservatively is about 60 degrees below the right angle.

1. A study of the late results of 343 soundly united tibial shaft fractures was carried out. Limitation of ankle and/or foot movement occurred in twenty-one patients (6 per cent) and was found to be the most important cause of disability. Knee stiffness (2·3 per cent of cases) and shortening of up to three-quarters of an inch (5·5 per cent of cases) caused little functional impairment.

2. Stiffness of the foot and ankle was correlated with the severity of injury, occurring in 1 per cent of minor, 5 per cent of moderate and 22 per cent of major injuries.

3. One-third of the patients with limitation of foot and ankle movement had clinical evidence of ischaemic contracture.

4. It is argued that, in the absence of direct injury to the joint, persistent joint stiffness is caused by replacement fibrosis of soft tissues. This may result either from direct tissue injury or from associated vascular damage.

1. The Moe plate has been used in 256 of 270 consecutive intertrochanteric fractures of the femur. There was an operative mortality of l8·8 per cent and an overall mortality of 20·7 per cent in a group averaging 75·2 years of age.

2. The method proved satisfactory, giving secure fixation and also approximation of the fragments by the lag action of the three large screws driven into the head. There was only one case of non-union.

3. In the survivors anatomical and functional results have been satisfactory in about 70 per cent, with half of these showing full functional recovery and the other half requiring only occasional use of a stick or crutch.

4. There are a few intertrochanteric fractures of the femur too comminuted for any form of internal fixation. Traction should be used in this group.

5. A varus deformity developed in about one half of the cases. This is consistent with a good functional result.

6. The main difficulty in these aged people has been survival. The problems have been discussed with suggestions that may perhaps reduce in part a mortality that seems inherent in this injury and at this age.

We adduce the following conclusions from our experience of using this spring-loaded compression screw on completely displaced medial fractures of the femoral neck:

1. That this method probably eliminates non-union when the head is fully viable.

2. That primary "first-intention" osseous union occurs in approximately 33·3 per cent of cases.

3. That a vascular complication, of varying severity, undetectable by orthodox radiological tests, is revealed by extrusion of the screw in 66·6 per cent of cases.

4. That these observations disprove the idea that the main obstacle to revascularisation of an ischaemic head is the existence of forces so inclined to the axis of the femoral neck as to cause "shear."

5. That, compared with the Smith-Petersen nail used for completely displaced fractures, continuous spring compression can materially reduce the incidence of utter mechanical failure within the first year after operation. This is the result of "mushroom" impaction which itself can resist shearing strain and so can permit function as a fibrous union.

6. That early and rapid extrusion is a sensitive indication of a vascular complication in the head. Forewarned by this, activity can be restricted, or possibly other measures adopted, to anticipate or permanently postpone serious trouble.

1. A case of spontaneous fracture of a first rib is described.

2. Its evolution from a previously intact rib through the stage of a "linear" crack to pseudarthrosis has been traced.

3. An older pseudarthrosis was present on the opposite side.

4. Alderson's observation is confirmed—that the breach in the rib is acquired. There is no need to suppose a developmental anomaly of ossification, even in a bilateral case.

Aims. Periprosthetic fractures (PPFs) around cemented taper-slip femoral prostheses often result in a femoral component that is loose at the prosthesis-cement interface, but where the cement-bone interface remains well-fixed and bone stock is good. We aim to understand how best to classify and manage these fractures by using a modification of the Vancouver classification. Methods. We reviewed 87 PPFs. Each was a first episode of fracture around a cemented femoral component, where surgical management consisted of revision surgery. Data regarding initial injury, intraoperative findings, and management were prospectively collected. Patient records and serial radiographs were reviewed to determine fracture classification, whether the bone cement was well fixed (B2W) or loose (B2L), and time to fracture union following treatment. Results. In total, 47 B2W fractures (54.0%) and one B3 fracture (1.1%) had cement that remained well-fixed at the cement-bone interface. These cases were treated with cement-in-cement (CinC) revision arthroplasty. Overall, 43 fractures with follow-up united, and two patients sustained further fractures secondary to nonunion and required further revision surgery. A total of 19 B2L fractures (21.8%) and 19 B3 fractures (21.8%) had cement that was loose at the cement-bone interface. These cases were managed by revision arthroplasty with either cemented or uncemented femoral components, or proximal femoral arthroplasty. One case could not be classified. Conclusion. We endorse a modification of the original Vancouver system to include a subclassification of B2 fractures around cemented femoral prostheses to include B2W (where cement is well-fixed to bone) and B2L (where the cement is loose). Fractures around taper-slip design stems are more likely to fracture in a B2W pattern compared to fractures around composite beam design stems which are more likely to fracture in a B2L pattern. B2W fractures can reliably be managed with CinC revision. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2021;103-B(1):71–78

We have reviewed a series of 56 consecutive patients treated by the Ilizarov circular fixator for various combinations of nonunion, malunion and infection of fractures. We used segmental excision, distraction osteogenesis and gradual correction of the deformity as appropriate.

Treatment was effective in eliminating 40 out of 46 nonunions and all 22 infections. There were two cases of refracture some months after removal of the frame, both of which healed securely in a second frame. Correction of malunion was good in the coronal plane but there was a tendency to anterior angulation, often occurring in the regenerate bone rather than at the original fracture site, after removal of the frame. This was associated with very slow maturation of regenerate bone in some patients, occurring largely, but not exclusively, in those who smoked heavily.

Patients expressed high levels of satisfaction with the outcome, despite relatively modest improvements in pain and function, presumably because their longstanding and intractable nonunion had been treated. None the less, the degree of satisfaction correlated strongly with the degree of improvement in pain and function.

We emphasise the importance of a multidisciplinary team in the assessment and support of patients undergoing long and demanding treatment. The Ilizarov method is valuable, but research is needed to overcome the problems of delayed maturation of the regenerate and slow or insecure healing of the docking site.

We reviewed the surgical treatment and oncological results of 40 patients with pathological fractures from localised osteosarcoma of the long bones to determine the outcome of limb salvage in their management. All had had adjuvant chemotherapy. There were 26 males and 14 females with a median age at diagnosis of 18 years (2 to 46) and a median follow-up of 55 months (8 to 175).

We performed limb salvage in 27 patients and amputation in 13. The margins of resection were radical in five patients, wide in 26, marginal in six, wide but contaminated in two and intralesional in one. Local recurrence developed in 19% of those treated by limb salvage and in none of those who had an amputation. The cumulative five-year survival of all the patients was 57% and in those treated by limb salvage or amputation it was 64% and 47%, respectively (p > 0.05).

Limb-sparing surgery with adequate margins of excision can be achieved in many patients with pathological fractures from primary osteosarcoma without compromising survival, but the risk of local recurrence is significant.