Excision of the lunate was performed for 18 patients with Kienbock's disease; 14 were followed up for an average of almost 12 years. Carpal collapse progressed with time, but rearrangement of the remaining carpal bones preserved a satisfactory range of movement and grip strength. Degenerative changes were not severe. All the patients had relief of pain, were able to carry out their normal activities, and all but two could perform strenuous activities.
1. Operative treatment of scaphoid pseudarthrosis by the Matti-Russe method is a reliable procedure which in our series has given ninety-seven cases of bony union in a total of 100 operations. 2. We do not hesitate to advise operation for this condition as soon as it is discovered, except in cases with severe secondary osteoarthritis. Equally good results have been reported by Murray (1946) from a series of 100 cases treated with cortical grafts from the tibia (blind method) and by Agner (1963) from a series of twenty-four patients treated by Bentzon's operation (interposition of a pedicled soft-tissue flap). 3. In our opinion, Russe's open operation has great technical advantages over Murray's blind method. 4. We have no experience of Bentzon's operation, which seems attractive on account of its technical simplicity and as not more than two weeks' immobilisation in plaster after operation are needed. 5. It would be interesting to see Agner's results confirmed from other sources. It is true that many scaphoid pseudarthroses remain symptomless for years, as London (1961) has pointed out, but many of them sooner or later cause pain, and we do not agree with London's opinion that a few weeks of immobilisation will usually make the wrist painless. 6. Although severe osteoarthritis is very slow to develop in wrists with pseudarthrosis of the scaphoid bone it cannot be denied that these wrists are constantly threatened with suddenly developing pain and by progressive deterioration of function. 7. Therefore, early repair of pseudarthrosis of the scaphoid bone is advisable; it can be expected to save many wrists from progressive loss of function and from final development of severe degenerative change.
The operation has the advantage of simplicity, and it avoids the slight danger of secondary cicatricial contracture of the nerve when it is transplanted anteriorly and implanted in muscle. There is a slight hazard from external injuries because the nerve is unprotected by the epicondyle.
Primary osteoarthritis of the ankle with no history of trauma is rare. We report the use of a low tibial osteotomy on 18 ankles in 18 patients, two men and 16 women. The osteotomy is designed to correct the varus tilt and anterior opening of the distal tibial joint surface where it has been shown by weight-bearing radiographs and arthroscopy that there is healthy articular cartilage on the lateral side of the ankle. An opening-wedge osteotomy was used to achieve slight overcorrection. Follow-up of the 18 ankles at an average of 6 years 11 months (2.7 to 12.10) showed the results by our own scoring system to be excellent in six ankles, good in nine, and fair in three with no poor results. Of the three patients with fair results, two had been undercorrected and the third had little residual articular cartilage. Arthroscopic examination of ten ankles showed repair by fibrocartilage in seven. We conclude that slight overcorrection of deformity by low tibial osteotomy is effective in treating intermediate-stage primary osteoarthritis of the ankle.
We describe 129 patients with disabling instability of the knee due to deficiency of the anterior cruciate ligament. They were treated by replacement of the ligament with a Leeds-Keio prosthesis supplemented by an extra-articular MacIntosh lateral substitution reconstruction. After an average period of 71 months a satisfactory outcome was found in only 60% of knees. Nine had required revision because of recurrent instability and the pivot-shift sign had become positive in 40% of patients. In our opinion the long-term results are unsatisfactory when compared with those obtained using a graft from the medial third of the patellar tendon supplemented with a MacIntosh extra-articular tenodesis.
We describe 74 patients with disabling instability of the knee due to isolated anterior cruciate deficiency. None responded to conservative measures or correction of internal derangements. All patients were treated by replacement of the anterior cruciate ligament with the medial third of the patellar tendon as a free graft, supplemented by an extra-articular MacIntosh lateral reconstruction. A satisfactory outcome was found in 93% of knees after an average of 70 months follow-up. Cast immobilisation after operation, the interval between injury and reconstruction, the age of the patient and the severity of symptoms before reconstruction had no significant effect on the final outcome.
We reviewed 13 children with partial growth plate arrest who had been treated by epiphyseolysis. Eight were followed to skeletal maturity and five for at least four years. In three cases the affected limb was restored to normal and in five the operation was successful in improving angular deformity and leg length discrepancy such that further surgery was not necessary. In the five failures, angular deformity had progressed or limb length discrepancy had increased. There were no significant complications and the procedure did not prevent subsequent osteotomy or limb length equalisation. Epiphyseolysis was most effective for small bars and those affecting only the central area of the plate.
We have reviewed 54 hips in 46 patients from 2 to 14 years after a joint-preserving operation for idiopathic avascular necrosis of the femoral head. The choice between core decompression (17 hips), bone grafting (18), rotation osteotomy (15) or varus osteotomy (4) was determined by the stage and location of the area of necrosis. The overall success rate was unexpectedly low at 60%. Core decompression and bone grafting by our techniques gave poor long-term results, but those of rotation or varus osteotomies, performed with care for the correct indications, were better. The indications for each procedure are discussed: osteotomy is best when the area of necrosis is shallow and localised in the medial or anterior portion of the femoral head.
The treatment of bone cysts by topical injection of methylprednisolone acetate was initiated at the end of 1973, and the late results are reported in this paper. In seventy-two cases followed up for one to three years favourable results have been obtained in about 90 per cent. The technique of local injection and the surgical equipment employed, in the case of focal recurrences, are considered. With this method, surgical treatment of bone cysts in youth is seldom necessary.
One hundred and eighty-three conservative amputations of some part of the foot in 161 patients with gangrene from diabetes or arteriosclerosis have been studied retrospectively. They constituted 48 per cent of all amputations in one orthopaedic service over a period of twelve years, during which the minimal feasible procedure was always chosen. Sixty per cent healed soundly, but in over a third of these cases at least one revision to a higher level on the foot had been required. Factors that significantly influenced the outcome of the initial operation were the level of amputation, the age of the patient, the interval between the onset of gangrene and operation, anaemia and pyrexia.
We report the technique and results of a new method of debridement arthroplasty for advanced primary osteoarthritis of the elbow. Triceps and the periosteum of the olecranon are reflected towards the ulnar side and the joint is opened by dividing the radial collateral ligament. Osteophytes are removed, the olecranon and coronoid fossae are deepened and the fibrosed anterior joint capsule is excised. The degenerative changes are always more advanced on the radial side, with erosion of the capitellum, and it is usually necessary to remodel the head of the radius. In 29 elbows reviewed at a mean of 64 months, the average gain of range of motion was 34 degrees, with good pain relief and improved grip in most patients. Two elbows required reoperation but there were no other serious complications.
We reviewed 236 of the 388 Chiari pelvic osteotomies performed between 1953 and 1967 at the Orthopaedic University Clinic of Vienna for the treatment of congenital dislocation and subluxation of the hip. Over 90% of the operations were performed by Chiari himself. Twenty-one hips had needed reoperation after an average of 15.4 years; the other 215 hips had been followed up for 20 to 34 years (mean 24.8). The overall clinical results were excellent or good in 51.4%, fair in 29.8% and poor in 18.3%. The results were worse with increasing age at operation. The Trendelenburg sign improved only in patients aged seven or less at operation, and range of movement decreased in all cases. Subjectively poor results were seen in patients with pre-operative signs of osteoarthritis. Radiological loss of correction during follow-up was seen only in cases with incomplete primary correction. The addition of an intertrochanteric varus osteotomy in 36 cases did not achieve either better centering or better development of the acetabular roof. Degenerative changes increased significantly during the long-term follow-up, but their progress seemed to have been slowed down by the osteotomy in the younger age groups. Indications and contra-indications for the operation are discussed.
Between 1948 and 1975 147 patients were treated surgically for developmental stenosis of the lumbar vertebral canal, measurement of the mid-sagittal diameters in the whole area of stenosis being performed in 116 patients. Ninety-two of these patients were followed up for periods varying between one and twenty years. About two-thirds were completely relieved fo symptoms and signs. Sciatica and intermittent claudication were more frequently cured than radicular deficit and lumbago, the latter being the most frequent persisting symptom. A permanent neural deficit as a result of the surgical procedure was noted in two cases. A detailed presentation of the technique, complications and results is given.
We reviewed 29 consecutive patients after cemented femoral revision of cemented hip arthroplasties for osteolysis. After an average follow-up of 8.5 years, osteolysis had recurred in only two cases (6.9%) and 25 femoral components (86%) remained well fixed.
After exclusions, 265 patients with tuberculosis of the thoracic and/or lumbar spine were followed for three years from the start of treatment. They were randomly allocated to four daily regimens of chemotherapy: 1) isoniazid plus rifampicin for 6 months (6HR, 65); 2) the same drugs as in 1) but for 9 months (9HR, 71); 3) isoniazid plus paraaminosalicylic acid (PAS) or ethambutol for 9 months (9P/EH, 62); or 4) the same drugs as in 3) but for 18 months (18P/EH, 67). All patients were ambulatory from the start of chemotherapy and no form of splintage or support or operation was used in any case. Over half (55%) the patients were children and one-third had sinuses or clinically evident abscesses. At three years a favourable status, defined as no sinus nor clinically evident abscess, no myelopathy with functional impairment, no surgery nor additional chemotherapy, full physical activity with disease quiescent clinically and radiographically, was achieved in 203 patients (77%) and in another 41 (15%) in all respects except radiographically. Only 20 patients (8%) had an unfavourable status the proportion being highest (19%) in the 9P/EH series. Thirteen of these were classified as unfavourable solely because they had needed additional chemotherapy; only seven still had an unfavourable status at three years. The clinical results at three years were thus excellent in all series except the 9P/EH, in which more patients had required additional chemotherapy. In the 88 patients with sinuses or abscesses on admission, the rate of resolution was similar in all the series; most lesions (83%) had resolved by 12 months.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Aims. The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with five-year cancer-related mortality in patients with limb and trunk soft-tissue sarcoma (STS) and develop and validate machine learning algorithms in order to predict five-year cancer-related mortality in these patients. Methods. Demographic, clinicopathological, and treatment variables of limb and trunk STS patients in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End
Aims. The aim of this study was to report the pooled prevalence of post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) and examine whether the risk of developing PTOA after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury has decreased in recent decades. Methods. The PubMed and Web of Science databases were searched from 1 January 1980 to 11 May 2022. Patient series, observational studies, and clinical trials having reported the prevalence of radiologically confirmed PTOA after ACL injury, with at least a ten-year follow-up, were included. All studies were analyzed simultaneously, and separate analyses of the operative and nonoperative knees were performed. The prevalence of PTOA was calculated separately for each study, and pooled prevalence was reported with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using either a fixed or random effects model. To examine the effect of the year of injury on the prevalence, a logit transformed meta-regression analysis was used with a maximum-likelihood estimator.
Aims. This study aims to describe a new method that may be used as a supplement to evaluate humeral rotational alignment during intramedullary nail (IMN) insertion using the profile of the perpendicular peak of the greater tuberosity and its relation to the transepicondylar axis. We called this angle the greater tuberosity version angle (GTVA). Methods. This study analyzed 506 cadaveric humeri of adult patients. All humeri were CT scanned using 0.625 × 0.625 × 0.625 mm cubic voxels. The images acquired were used to generate 3D surface models of the humerus. Next, 3D landmarks were automatically calculated on each 3D bone using custom-written C++ software. The anatomical landmarks analyzed were the transepicondylar axis, the humerus anatomical axis, and the peak of the perpendicular axis of the greater tuberosity. Lastly, the angle between the transepicondylar axis and the greater tuberosity axis was calculated and defined as the GTVA.
