Over 200 high-velocity missile injuries treated in a low-technology environment were audited under the aegis of the International Committee of the Red Cross Hospitals in Afghanistan and Northern Kenya. Femoral fractures were treated either by traction or external fixation using a uniaxial frame. The results showed that patients treated by external fixation remained in hospital longer than those treated on traction. The positional outcome was identical in both groups. In tibial fractures the external fixator was only of extra benefit in those of the lower third when compared with simple plaster slabs unless more complex procedures such as flaps or vascular repair were to be performed. In complex humeral fractures, external fixation resulted in long stays in hospital and a large number of interventions when compared with simple treatment in a sling. We conclude therefore that in an environment where facilities are limited and surgeons have only general experience very careful initial wound excision is the most important factor determining outcome. The application of complex holding techniques was generally inappropriate.
We describe the results of a policy of highly selective splintage for CDH, using knee plasters. No child suffered because splintage was withheld. In those who were treated the results were satisfactory and the proportion who required a subsequent operation was extremely low. Avascular necrosis was not a significant problem. The method, although a little more time consuming, appears to offer significant advantages over current alternatives.
Four military recruits with complete distraction-type stress fractures of the femoral neck were treated conservatively. The radiographic diagnosis was made within two weeks of the onset of symptoms and the activities of the patients were matched to the clinical and radiographic progress of fracture healing. None of the fractures displaced and union occurred uneventfully. Our experience suggests that prophylactic internal fixation of these fractures is not necessary.
Forty-three patients with 69 feet affected by isolated metatarsus adductus et supinatus were reviewed. Of these, 20 patients (with 31 involved feet) had been treated expectantly and spontaneous resolution had occurred with time. The remaining 23 patients (with 38 feet) had required anteromedial release; the operative technique is described. Excellent results were uniformly achieved in both groups, with neither recurrence nor complications in the operatively treated feet. There was a consistent correlation between good clinical results and a naviculo -metatarsal angle of less than 100 degrees. The timing of soft-tissue release did not influence the final outcome.
Sixty-nine patients with congenital abnormality of the femur were reviewed. Their manifestation of femoral dysplasia ranged from an intact femur approximately 60 per cent of the length of the normal leg to a subtotal absence of the femur in which only the femoral condyles remained, often with a congenital fusion of the knee joint. Two groups were defined: Group I consisted of those with congenital hypoplastic femur in which the hip and knee could be made functional and where, in some patients at least, leg equalisation was possible; Group II consisted of those with true proximal focal femoral deficiency where the hip joint was never normal and the knee joint was always useless. The patients in each group were examined and evaluated with respect to clinical signs, surgical procedures performed, and prosthetic requirements and function. A protocol of treatment for both groups is suggested.
Seventeen femoral fractures occurred in 1,751 operations for total hip replacement. They usually occurred during dislocation of the hip, reaming of the shaft, or insertion of the femoral component, and were common in second operations. The short oblique fracture can be controlled by use of the standard implant, and the long oblique fracture by internal fixation. Fractures well below the implant should probably be treated by continous traction. The eventual results were adequate in all cases. The liability to fracture can be reduced by taking special care during operation in particulary susceptible cases.
A system is presented for the analysis of failure after spinal operations: 1) outright failure; 2) temporary relief; 3) failure in spondylolisthesis; and 4) infections. With this system it is possible to trace the causes of failure and to correct some of them. When they are used as a guide before operation, the recommendations made should help to prevent many failures.
1. Twelve cases of hydatid disease of bone seen in Kuwait over the last ten years are reported. Ten of the twelve patients were Bedouins. 2. Seven cases were followed up and the results of treatment are discussed. 3. Curettage, formalin swabbing and bone grafts were used as the treatment of choice. 4. There may be a place for a conservative approach in some cases ; one such case reported here has been followed up for ten years. 5. The problem of prevention, especially in a Bedouin area, is briefly discussed.
1. A modification of the McLaughlin technique of lag screw fixation of the fractured scaphoid is described. 2. Fifty-six patients operated upon between 1956 and 1966 have been reviewed and their fractures classified under the headings 3. Plaster casts were avoided and early return to work encouraged; 95 per cent did so within two months. 4. Of twenty-two recent fractures, including three perilunar trans-scaphoid dislocations, nineteen united; of fifteen showing delayed union, eight united: and of nineteen cases of non-union, only two united. 5. The function of the wrist in the seventeen cases of persistent non-union stabilised by lag-screw was surprisingly good; only one patient has required arthrodesis to date. 6. The indications and contra-indications for the operation are discussed.
1. A conservative approach to the varus deformity of anaesthetic feet in infants with myelomeningocele is advocated. Thirty-three of thirty-five varus feet treated by this method, supplemented when necessary by a minor operation to correct equinus, responded satisfactorily in this prospective study of twenty-four infants treated from birth. 2. A rotation flap incision has proved of considerable advantage in the rare instances when an extensive medial release is required.
1. The treatment of twenty-nine consecutive patients suffering from chronic osteomyelitis is reviewed. With the advent of an antibiotic, Fucidin, which has the ability to penetrate in significant amounts into tissues carrying a poor blood supply, a more limited surgical procedure has become possible. 2. A successful outcome, as judged by primary healing, was achieved in 86 per cent of patients treated with a combination of surgery and Fucidin with penicillin. This compares favourably with the results achieved in a previous series in which more radical surgery was undertaken. 3. Although Fucidin has advanced the treatment of chronic osteomyelitis, it is still essential to use surgery as well. 4. Fucidin caused no toxic effects despite an average total dose of seventy to eighty grammes. Resistance of the staphylococcus developed
1. A case of essential osteolysis previously reported in this Journal is recalled briefly and its subsequent course is outlined. 2. A successful prosthesis is described which has enabled the patient to lead a relatively normal life.
We have managed 21 patients with a fracture of the tibia complicated by bone and soft-tissue loss as a result of an open fracture in 10, or following debridement of an infected nonunion in 11, by resection of all the devitalised tissues, acute limb shortening to close the defect, application of an external fixator and metaphyseal osteotomy for re-lengthening. The mean bone loss was 4.7 cm (3 to 11). The mean age of the patients was 28.8 years (12 to 54) and the mean follow-up was 34.8 months (24 to 75). All the fractures united with a well-aligned limb. The mean duration of treatment for the ten grade-III A+B open fractures (according to the Gustilo-Anderson classification) was 5.7 months (4.5 to 8) and for the nonunions, 7.6 months (5.5 to 12.5). Complications included one refracture, one transient palsy of the peroneal nerve and one equinus contracture of 10°.
Fracture of a pedicle is a rare complication of spinal instrumentation using pedicular screws, but it can lead to instability and pain and may necessitate extension of the fusion. Osteosynthesis of the fractured pedicle by cerclage-wire fixation and augmentation of the screw fixation by vertebroplasty or temporary elongation of the fixation, allows stabilisation without sacrifice of the adjacent healthy segment. We describe three patients who developed a fracture of the pedicle in the most caudal instrumented vertebra early after lumbar spinal fusion. During revision surgery the pedicles were reduced and secured by a soft cerclage wire bilaterally. Fusion was obtained at the site of the primary instrumentation and healing of the pedicles was achieved. Cerclage wiring of the fractured pedicle seems to be safe and avoids permanent extension of the fusion without the sacrifice of an otherwise healthy segment.
There are few reports of the treatment of lumbar tuberculous spondylitis using the posterior approach. Between January 1999 and February 2004, 16 patients underwent posterior lumbar interbody fusion with autogenous iliac-bone grafting and pedicle screw instrumentation. Their mean age at surgery was 51 years (28 to 66). The mean follow-up period was 33 months (24 to 48). The clinical outcome was assessed using the Frankel neurological classification and the Kirkaldy-Willis criteria. On the Frankel classification, one patient improved by two grades (C to E), seven by one grade, and eight showed no change. The Kirkaldy-Willis functional outcome was classified as excellent in eight patients, good in five, fair in two and poor in one. Bony union was achieved within one year in 15 patients. The mean pre-operative lordotic angle was 27.8° (9° to 45°) which improved by the final follow-up to 35.8° (28° to 48°). Post-operative complications occurred in four patients, transient root injury in two, a superficial wound infection in one and a deep wound infection in one, in whom the implant was removed. Our results show that a posterior lumbar interbody fusion with autogenous iliac-bone grafting and pedicle screw instrumentation for tuberculous spondylitis through the posterior approach can give satisfactory results.
