We have reviewed 11 patients with idiopathic transient osteoporosis of the hip; the six who were women all developed the condition during pregnancy. Both simultaneous and sequential bilateral involvement were seen, but biochemical studies were consistently normal and one synovial biopsy showed only non-specific inflammation. Radioisotope bone scans and CT scans were useful to aid diagnosis. Treatment by limiting weight-bearing relieved symptoms, and spontaneous resolution was paralleled by radiographic remineralisation, usually within a few months. One patient developed a stress fracture of the hip and other areas of transient osteoporosis. A hip involved by the condition should be protected from overloading until bone density has recovered

Hyperphosphatasia, or hereditary bone dysplasia with hyperphosphatasaemia, is a rare genetic disorder which is characterised by failure to transform woven into lamellar bone. Clinical, radiological and histological features establish the diagnosis, fractures, deformities, diffuse sclerosis on radiographs and high serum alkaline phosphatase being characteristic. We report the case of a 27-year-old man with follow-up at the same hospital for 20 years. Attempts at treatment with calcitonin and disocium etidronate (EHDP) failed, but stapling of the growth plates at the knee was successfully performed. Transverse "brittle" fractures of the humerus, lower leg and ribs healed normally, but internal fixation and late bone grafting were required for a subtrochanteric stress fracture of the femur at the age of 24 years. At present the patient has no clinical problems and leads a normal life

We have reviewed 85 knees in 71 patients after total-condylar posteriorly stabilised (Insall-Burstein) knee replacement with an average follow-up of five years. Excellent or good results were obtained in 90% with an average maximum flexion of 98 degrees. The four poor results (5%) included two with deep infection, one with patellar dislocation and one with loosening. Four other knees (5%) showed signs of probable tibial loosening, but the patients were asymptomatic, the clinical results had not deteriorated with time and lucent lines had not progressed. Varus alignment of the knee and a varus tilt of more than 2 degrees of the tibial component correlated with the incidence of lucent lines around the tibial implant. No patellar stress fractures were seen but impingement symptoms were present in 20%, although they were troublesome in less than half of them. The virtue of the prosthesis lies in its versatility for use in the severely deformed joint

Ten uncemented total hip replacements were performed in 1975 using an implant in which the cobalt-chrome femoral stem was coated to give a porous surface. In all but one case a high-density polyethylene head was used. The radiological changes in the upper femoral shafts were assessed between three and nine years later. Seven showed extensive stress-relieving changes, loss of calcar, stress fractures at the root of the lesser trochanter with subsequent detachment, and osteoporosis followed by avulsion of the greater trochanter. In these seven patients the lower part of the stem appeared to be soundly embedded, although in only one was there evidence of bony incorporation. It is suggested that if the fixation of a fully coated implant of this sort remains sound, gross atrophy of the upper femoral shaft develops after five years. This atrophy, associated with an implant which can be removed only at the expense of further bone destruction, presents substantial problems if revision is needed

1. Sixty-three fractures of the femur occurring in forty-eight patients with Paget's disease are presented. 2. In patients with Paget's disease the femur is the bone most often fractured, although the risk of fracture is probably not much greater than that of the normal population. 3. Many femoral fractures in Paget's disease are spontaneous and are preceded by pain. Extension of a stress fracture is the most likely cause. 4. All eleven femoral neck fractures in this series failed to unite; it is suggested that neither operation nor prolonged conservative treatment is indicated. 5. Subtrochanteric fractures, if severely displaced, are best treated by intramedullary nailing. 6. Most shaft fractures may be satisfactorily treated by conservative means. Deformity of the shaft can be corrected in fractures treated by external splintage. 7. The time required for union has been neither unduly short nor unduly prolonged. 8. The long-term results in this series have been acceptable. Sarcomatous change as a complication of fracture was not observed

Aims

The value of core decompression (CD) in the treatment of osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) remains controversial. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate whether CD combined with other treatments could improve the clinical and radiological outcomes of ONFH patients compared with CD alone.

The fourth lumbar vertebrae and L4-5 discs from six cadaveric lumbar spines were subjected to detailed strain gauge analysis under conditions of controlled loading. With central compression loads, maximal compressive strain was found to occur near the bases of the pedicles and on both superficial and deep surfaces of the pars interarticularis, which emphasises the importance of the posterior elements of lumbar vertebrae in transmitting load. Radial bulge and tangential strain of the disc wall were maximal at the posterolateral surface, in agreement with the fact that disc degeneration and prolapse commonly occur there. Under posterior offset loads simulating extension, both compressive and tensile strains were found to be increased on both surfaces of the pars interarticularis, which suggests that hyperextension may lead to stress fractures and spondylolisthesis. Posterior offset loads also increased the radial bulge of the posterior disc wall and tangential strain at the anterior surface of the disc. Anterior offset loads simulating flexion increased the radial bulge of the anterior disc wall and tangential strain at the posterior surface of the disc. These findings are compatible with movement of the nucleus pulposus within the disc during flexion and extension. This hypothesis was supported by post-mortem discography

Aims

Existing literature indicates that inferiorly inclined glenoid baseplates following reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) produce better outcomes compared to superiorly inclined baseplates. We aim to compare clinical outcomes for RSAs with superiorly and neutrally/inferiorly inclined lateralized glenospheres.

The results and complications of 104 vascularised fibular grafts in 102 patients are presented. Bony union was ultimately achieved in 97 patients, with primary union in 84 (84%). The mean time to union was 15.5 weeks (8 to 40). In 13 patients, primary union was achieved at one end of the fibula and secondary union at the other end. In these patients, the mean time to union was 31.1 weeks (24 to 40). Five patients failed to achieve union, with a resultant pseudarthrosis (3 patients) or amputation (2 patients). There were various complications. Immediate thrombosis occurred in 14 cases. In two of 23 patients with osteomyelitis, infection recurred at two and six months after surgery, respectively. Both patients had active osteomyelitis less than one month before the operation. Bony infection occurred in a patient with a synovial sarcoma of the forearm one year after surgery. In 15 patients, 19 fractures of the fibular graft occurred after bony union, all except one within one year after union. In patients in whom an external fixator had been used, fracture occurred soon after its removal. Union was difficult to achieve in cases of congenital pseudarthrosis of the tibia. Appropriate alignment of the fibular graft is an important factor in preventing stress fracture. The vascularised fibula should be protected during the first year after union. Postoperative complications at the donor site included transient palsy of the superficial peroneal nerve in three patients, contracture of flexor hallucis longus in two and valgus deformity of the ankle in three. Vascularised fibular grafts are useful in the reconstruction of massive bony defects. We believe that meticulous preoperative planning, including choosing which vessels to select in the recipient and the type of fixation devices to use, and care in the introduction of the vascularised fibula, can improve the results and prevent complications

Aims

Local recurrence remains a challenging and common problem following curettage and joint-sparing surgery for giant cell tumour of bone (GCTB). We previously reported a 15% local recurrence rate at a median follow-up of 30 months in 20 patients with high-risk GCTB treated with neoadjuvant Denosumab. The aim of this study was to determine if this initial favourable outcome following the use of Denosumab was maintained with longer follow-up.

Aims

Metaphyseal cones with cemented stems are frequently used in revision total knee arthroplasty (TKA). However, if the diaphysis has been previously violated, the resultant sclerotic canal can impair cemented stem fixation, which is vital for bone ingrowth into the cone, and long-term fixation. We report the outcomes of our solution to this problem, in which impaction grafting and a cemented stem in the diaphysis is combined with an uncemented metaphyseal cone, for revision TKA in patients with severely compromised bone.

The successful management of femoral neck fractures is obviously based upon many factors. The forces acting upon the proximal end of the femur are believed to be mainly compressive in nature, and the low-angle nail by stabilising the fully reduced fracture in the line of these forces is held to allow weight bearing to take place. Low-angle nailing is believed to offer many advantages over conventional methods of treatment but only in the presence of stability. Stable reduction is the essential preliminary to any form of treatment, and low-angle fixation with early weight bearing in the absence of stability is regarded as futile. It is suggested that those subcapital separations which follow trivial injury may originate as stress fractures accompanying the process of bone remodelling in the aged, and that many of these fractures may remain unrecognised and heal spontaneously. With rare exceptions, subcapital fractures are regarded as being of the same essential pattern, and their varying radiological appearance is considered to be due to the different degrees of displacement to which they have been subjected. A new classification based on this premise has been suggested. In a series of eighty subcapital fractures the incidence of avascular necrosis was not adversely affected by early weight bearing, but reduction in the extreme valgus position was invariably followed by this disaster. This is probably also true of any malposition in extreme rotation which must stretch and obliterate the vessels in the ligamentum teres. A rough alignment index of reduction was found to provide an almost infallible guide to the prognosis both in regard to union and to avascular change. It may therefore be possible to base prognosis on the quality of reduction before the fixation appliance has been inserted. The unsatisfactory results in those cases apparently destined to non-union or avascular necrosis may then be avoided by alternative means of treatment at an early stage. Whether this will prove to be true must depend upon a much longer experience of low-angle fixation, and, in common with almost every communication on this subject, premature publication must largely offset the value of the present findings

Aims

Acromial fractures following reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) have a wide range of incidences in reported case series. This study evaluates their incidence following RSA by systematically reviewing the current literature.

1. The clinical features, diagnosis and treatment of osteomalacia are discussed in relation to thirty-seven recently recognised cases. It is suggested that this disease is not uncommon in elderly women, among whom it is liable to be confused with senile osteoporosis. Osteomalacia may be distinguished by, firstly, the history, in which persistent skeletal pain of long duration and muscular weakness are typical of osteomalacia, but not of osteoporosis in which transient episodes of pain usually associated with a fracture are more characteristic. There is a high incidence of previous gastric surgery in the osteomalacia patients. Secondly, the physical examination shows skeletal tenderness in osteomalacia but this is not a particular feature of osteoporosis. A shuffling "penguin gait" suggests osteomalacia. Thirdly, the biochemistry shows a low plasma calcium and phosphate, and raised alkaline phosphatase levels commonly in osteomalacia but these are usually normal in osteoporosis. Reduced twenty-four-hour urinary calcium is characteristic of osteomalacia but not of osteoporosis. Fourthly, radiology will show diminished bone density which is common to both diseases, but if the changes are more marked in the peripheral bones than in the axial skeleton osteomalacia is suggested; the opposite is typical of osteoporosis. Skeletal deformity without fracture suggests osteomalacia, as do stress fractures and greenstick fractures in the elderly. Looser's zones are diagnostic of osteomalacia in which they are the most important radiological feature. Finally, histology will show the presence of excess osteoid tissue in undecalcified sections of bone in osteomalacia. This may be the earliest and most sensitive index of the disease and biopsy is indicated in all doubtful cases. 2. The etiology is discussed and it is suggested that a dietary deficiency of vitamin D, limited exposure to sunlight and mild degrees of malabsorption may all be important either alone or in combination. No satisfactory explanation is offered for the predominant female incidence. 3. A practical method of treatment is given and the dangers of uncontrolled administration of vitamin D indicated. 4. Treatment of osteomalacia is rapidly and consistently successful, and well justifies a thorough screening of all elderly patients presenting with weakness, skeletal pain, pathological fractures or with diminished radiographic density of bone

Aims

Preoperative talar valgus deformity ≥ 15° is considered a contraindication for total ankle arthroplasty (TAA). We compared operative procedures and clinical outcomes of TAA in patients with talar valgus deformity ≥ 15° and < 15°.

Aims

The processes linking long-term bisphosphonate treatment to atypical fracture remain elusive. To establish a means of exploring this link, we have examined how long-term bisphosphonate treatment with prior ovariectomy modifies femur fracture behaviour and tibia mass and shape in murine bones.

Aims

Tranexamic acid (TXA) has been shown to reduce blood loss and transfusion requirements in patients undergoing orthopaedic surgery. There remains a lack of prospective evidence for the use of TXA in patients undergoing periacetabular osteotomy (PAO). The purpose of this study was to determine if intravenous (IV) TXA is effective in reducing calculated blood loss and transfusions after PAO.

Aims

Hip fractures in patients < 60 years old currently account for only 3% to 4% of all hip fractures in England, but this proportion is increasing. Little is known about the longer-term patient-reported outcomes in this potentially more active population. The primary aim is to examine patient-reported outcomes following isolated hip fracture in patients aged < 60 years. The secondary aim is to determine an association between outcomes and different types of fracture pattern and/or treatment implants.

Abstract

The medial malleolus, once believed to be the primary stabilizer of the ankle, has been the topic of conflicting clinical and biomechanical data for many decades. Despite the relevant surgical anatomy being understood for almost 40 years, the optimal treatment of medial malleolar fractures remains unclear, whether the injury occurs in isolation or as part of an unstable bi- or trimalleolar fracture configuration. Traditional teaching recommends open reduction and fixation of medial malleolar fractures that are part of an unstable injury. However, there is recent evidence to suggest that nonoperative management of well-reduced fractures may result in equivalent outcomes, but without the morbidity associated with surgery. This review gives an update on the relevant anatomy and classification systems for medial malleolar fractures and an overview of the current literature regarding their management, including surgical approaches and the choice of implants.

Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2019;101-B:512–521.