Aims

The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the minimum five-year outcome of revision total hip arthroplasty (THA) using the Kerboull acetabular reinforcement device (KARD) in patients with Paprosky type III acetabular defects and destruction of the inferior margin of the acetabulum.

1. A diagnosis of upward translocation of the dens was made in eight patients with chronic rheumatoid arthritis selected from a group of patients who had radiographic studies of the cervical spine and from whom a number of patients with atlanto-axial subluxation were also identified. 2. Two of the patients presented with an acute neurological syndrome of serious import and required a stabilisation operation. Though this is an uncommon complication of rheumatoid arthritis it seems that urgent neurological syndromes are likely to be more common than in atlanto-axial subluxation

Severe kypho-scoliosis, lateral curvature and lordo-scoliosis are ultimately caused by disturbance of vertebral growth. The results of treatment by destroying the growth potential opposite the area of growth inhibition have been encouraging. When the operation has been adequate further deterioration has been prevented; in younger children there has been improvement with further growth. It is important that the growth arrest should be at the right site and that it should be sufficiently extensive. Accurate pre-operative diagnosis of the type and extent of the curve is important

1. A case of low back pain due to a sacral extradural cyst is reported. Radiographs of the sacrum showed an ovoid expansion of the sacral canal. Myelography and exploratory laminectomy revealed an extradural cyst associated with a defect in the dural root sleeve surrounding the second left sacral roots. Relief of symptoms followed evacuation of the cyst and repair of the defect. 2. The differential diagnosis of the condition, the varieties of extradural cyst, and the features which distinguish them from perineurial cysts are described

A new concept of the etiology of congenital dislocation of the hip, which states that the process is simply an accident, is presented. It is observed that the diagnosis should be made at birth. The importance of obtaining movement of the hip, after the reduction has been stabilised, is stressed. Contact and function are mandatory for the natural production of a normal hip. A mobile brace is described which allows a wide range of movement while safely maintaining reduction. The success of this method of treatment supports the conception of the etiology on which it is based

1. The supraspinatus group of lesions constitutes one of the two common causes of the painful shoulder. 2. Most, but not all, of these lesions resolve either spontaneously or after conservative treatment. 3. When conservative treatment fails symptoms can be relieved by excision of the acromion process, provided that sufficient bone is removed to relieve all pressure on the tendon throughout a full range of shoulder movement. 4. Excision of the acromion is contra-indicated if there is doubt as to the diagnosis or if there is true limitation of shoulder movement

We present the results of 38 children with leg inequality treated by circumferential periosteal release. Leg-length discrepancy was expressed as a percentage of the longer limb. All patients showed a decrease in percentage difference at one year after operation, the mean difference dropping from 7.24% to 5.45%. The size of the response was directly related to the age of the patient at operation, being more pronounced in the younger patients. The response was not related to sex, diagnosis, or rate of growth of the patient immediately preceding operation

Fifteen patients with identical symptoms of pain and tenderness at the tip of the greater trochanter are reviewed. Diagnosis by the referring doctor was usually osteoarthritis of the hip or sciatica, but localised tenderness and pain on resisted abduction were the only clinical signs. Radiographs were usually normal. Most cases were relieved by one or more local steroid injections. This disorder has much in common with tennis elbow, golfer's elbow, coccydynia and policeman's heel. We suggest that all these conditions may be traction syndromes

The Fairbank Collection in the Radiology Department of the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital contains details of 15 patients in the section labelled "Metaphysial Dysplasia and Dysostosis". This material has been reviewed, long-term follow-up of the patients carried out and the diagnosis revised, where indicated, according to current concepts. Of the 15 patients, all children, seven had recognisable bone dysplasias. The remaining eight, all listed under the heading "metaphysial fragility", had the characteristic radiographic features of "battered" babies

We studied 100 fresh human shoulders in cadavers (mean age 76 years), and the range of passive abduction (RPA) in 100 volunteers with normal shoulders and in 90 patients with instability of the joint, over a period of six years. The anatomical and clinical findings showed that passive abduction occurs within the glenohumeral joint only, is controlled by the inferior glenohumeral ligament and has a constant value in 95% of both shoulders in normal subjects. In patients with instability, 85% showed an RPA of over 105° with 90° in the contralateral shoulder. In the remaining patients a strongly positive apprehension test suggested a diagnosis of instability. An RPA of more than 105° is associated with lengthening and laxity of the inferior glenohumeral ligament

Chronic non-specific tenosynovitis of the posterior tibial tendon is a well-known clinical entity, characterised by pain, swelling and tenderness behind the medial malleolus. There are no reports in the literature of any case associated with any radiological abnormality. Three such cases are discussed, each presenting with the clinical findings typical of the syndrome but with associated radiological changes. These changes may pose diagnostic problems and several primary conditions need to be excluded. Surgical decompression of the tendon may be necessary to relieve symptoms, to prevent erosion and rupture of the tendon, and to establish the diagnosis

1. Clinical, radiological and pathological findings in seven cases of rheumatoid arthritis with giant bone cysts are presented. 2. In three cases the large cysts represented massive involvement of subchondral bone by rheumatoid granulation tissue; in two cases the cysts were due to rheumatoid nodules, and in two other cases the diagnosis was made only on the radiological findings. 3. The pathogenesis of this condition is discussed. It is suggested that cystic bone lesions in rheumatoid arthritis can arise either by replacement of subchondral bone by the rheumatoid process, or by the formation of rheumatoid nodules within the bone

1. Of 456 patients with features of herniated intervertebral disc eight were under twenty years of age. 2. Differences in the pattern of clinical presentation of the herniated disc syndrome in adults and in adolescents are discussed. 3. Whereas in the adult conservative treatment is usually successful, this is not so in the adolescent, in whom the symptoms and signs tend to persist for many months. 4. It is suggested that in the adolescent conservative treatment should not be prolonged despite the absence of neurological deficit; operation should be undertaken early after confirmation of the diagnosis by myelography

1. Four cases of myositis ossificans circumscripta are presented. 2. It remains an obscure condition but there are characteristic clinical, radiological and microscopical features. 3. While the majority of cases arise as a direct result of injury, these four cases suggest that this is not always so ; the diagnosis from osteosarcoma, bone or joint infection may then be difficult. 4. Noble's classification (1924) of myositis ossificans is adequate and should be accepted. Confusion would be avoided if cases such as those presented here were included in the classification suggested

1. The syndrome of spinal stenosis is due to compression of the cauda equina from structural narrowing of the lumbar spinal canal. 2. Patients with this syndrome present symptoms of cauda equina claudication or of unremitting bizarre back pain and sciatica. 3. The compression of the cauda equina is always posterior and postero-lateral and is caused by narrowing of the lateral recesses and of the dorso-ventral diameter of the spinal canal. 4. The diagnosis can be made only by myelography. The only form of successful relief of the nerve root compression in spinal stenosis is adequate lateral and longitudinal decompression

1. Haemorrhage into the fascial compartment which contains the iliacus muscle and the femoral nerve is a common complication of haemophilia. 2. The iliacus haematoma syndrome is described and illustrated from the authors' study of thirty episodes occurring in twenty-four patients. 3. The anatomy of the iliopsoas fascia is described and the mechanism of femoral nerve compression explained. 4. Differential diagnosis, prognosis and treatment are discussed and the necropsy findings in one patient are presented. 5. An instance of iliacus haematoma occurring as a complication of anticoagulant therapy is recorded

1. Nineteen patients with congenital shortening of the femur without associated coxa vara have been examined and discussed. 2. The diagnosis is made on finding a short, bulky thigh, held in lateral rotation. The radiographs commonly show no abnormality apart from shortening, but delay in ossification of the head of the femur, with lateral bowing and cortical sclerosis of the shaft, are occasionally present. The overall shortening of the limb seldom exceeds three inches. 3. The place of various surgical procedures to control limb length is briefly discussed

1. The literature on acute osteomyelitis of the maxilla in infants is reviewed and the improvement in the prognosis since the introduction of chemotherapy is noted. 2. The clinical features, diagnosis, surgical anatomy, pathology, and bacteriology are discussed and the constant pathogenicity of the staphylococcus aureus stressed. It is suggested that the first deciduous molar tooth is the centre of the early bone infection, and that the infection begins in the mucosa overlying this tooth. 3. Two cases are reported. Both were caused by a penicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus. 4. The early use of aureomycin in an attempt to abort the infection is advocated

Dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma is a rare, highly malignant variant of chondrosarcoma in which a high-grade spindle-cell sarcoma coexists with a lower-grade chondroid tumour. We have reviewed our experience with this neoplasm in 22 patients, all of whom were treated using modern oncological principles of planned resection and chemotherapy. Despite this the median survival was under nine months and only 18% were alive at five years. Those patients who received chemotherapy, and in whom wide margins of excision were achieved at operation, did best. It is essential to have an accurate preoperative diagnosis in order to plan treatment which may offer a better prospect of cure

This new blood test for infection is based on the phenomenon of leukergy in which white cells agglomerate in the peripheral blood of patients with inflammatory diseases. It was used in 26 patients with proven bone or joint infection and was positive in 25. The leukergy test was more accurate than the ESR, white cell count or blood culture. The percentage of cells agglomerated correlated with the clinical severity of the infection and the test detected reactivation of the septic process better than the other haematological tests. It is a rapid and inexpensive method which is useful in the diagnosis and management of bone and joint infections