Showing papers in "Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, American Volume in 1985"

Instrumented measurement of anterior laxity of the knee.

Abstract: We performed instrumented measurement of anterior-posterior laxity of the knee in thirty-three cadaver specimens, 338 normal subjects, and eighty-nine patients with unilateral disruption of the anterior cruciate ligament. The test instrument was the Medmetric knee arthrometer, model KT-2000. We measured total anterior-posterior laxity, produced by anterior and posterior loads of eighty-nine newtons (twenty pounds), and the anterior compliance index. The total anterior-posterior laxity is composed of an anterior displacement and a posterior displacement; these are measured from a testing reference position, defined as the resting position of the knee after applying and then releasing a posterior load of eighty-nine newtons. The anterior compliance index is defined as the anterior displacement between an anterior load of sixty-seven newtons and one of eighty-nine newtons. All tests were performed with the knee held on a thigh support that placed the knee in 20 +/- 5 degrees of flexion. The mean anterior displacement at eighty-nine newtons was 5.7 millimeters in a group of normal subjects and 13.0 millimeters in a group of patients with a disrupted anterior cruciate ligament. Ninety-two per cent of the normal subjects had a left knee-right knee difference in anterior displacement of no more than two millimeters, while 96 per cent of the patients with a unilateral disruption of the anterior cruciate ligament had an injured knee-normal knee difference in anterior displacement of more than two millimeters. Ninety-three per cent of the normal subjects had a difference in the left-right compliance index of no more than 0.5 millimeter, and 85 per cent of the patients with unilateral disruption of the anterior cruciate ligament had a difference in the compliance index of the injured and normal sides of more than 0.5 millimeter.

Results of revision for mechanical failure after cemented total hip replacement, 1979 to 1982. A two to five-year follow-up.

Abstract: From January 1979 to February 1982, 143 patients (seventy-nine women and sixty-four men) with 146 uninfected cemented total hip arthroplasties had revision cemented hip arthroplasty at The Hospital for Special Surgery for what was considered to be mechanical failure. The average age of the patients at primary arthroplasty was 56.1 years and at revision, 62.1 years. Loosening of the femoral component before revision correlated with varus positioning in 50 per cent of the hips, inadequate cement in 34 per cent, and a relatively young age in 16 per cent. The average age of the patients (fifteen hips) with a loose femoral component that had been placed in a neutral or valgus position with good cementing technique was 48.2 years at the time of primary arthroplasty. Loosening of the acetabular component was attributed to high placement of the cup in 41 per cent, inadequate bone in 18 per cent, a vertical orientation of the opening of the cup in 7 per cent, and poor cementing technique in 3 per cent. Complications associated with revision included perforation of the femoral cortex in 13 per cent, postoperative deep infection in 3.4 per cent, postoperative dislocation in 8.2 per cent, trochanteric complications in 6.2 per cent, and sciatic palsy in 0.7 per cent. Of the 139 hips that were followed for an average of 3.6 years (range, two to five years) after revision, the results were excellent in 59 per cent, good in 7 per cent, fair in 16 per cent, and poor in 18 per cent. After revision of the 139 hips, 29 per cent showed progressive radiolucencies; 18 per cent, femoral subsidence; and 9 per cent, acetabular migration. Definite mechanical failure after revision was identified in 15.8 per cent of the hips. These failures were due to loosening in 12.2 per cent of the hips, femoral fracture in 2.2 per cent, and disabling dislocation in 1.4 per cent. At the time of follow-up, twelve hips (8.6 per cent) had been revised a second time: six (4.3 per cent) for loosening of one or both components, three (2.2 per cent) for femoral fracture, and three (2.2 per cent) for infection. Mechanical failure and progressive radiolucencies were associated with poor quality of bone (p less than 0.001) and inadequate anatomical reconstruction (p less than 0.03).

Functional anatomy of the anterior cruciate ligament and a rationale for reconstruction.

Abstract: In thirty-three normal cadaver knees from adults (mean age, twenty-nine years), the average length of the anterior cruciate ligament was 31 +/- 3 millimeters and the angle between the ligament and the long axis of the femur was 28 +/- 4 degrees with the knee at 90 degrees of flexion. We could find no macroscopic or microscopic evidence of discrete subdivisions of the anterior cruciate ligament. We studied the functional importance of the positions of the attachments of the anterior cruciate ligament. The distance between the central points of the normal attachment areas on the tibia and on the femur was found to be isometric during flexion and extension. The so-called over-the-top position on the femur was the least favorable of the positions that we tested, since it resulted in an average elongation of the ligament of ten millimeters with the knee in full extension as compared with full flexion. On the basis of the results in the present study, we suggest some basic principles for a standardized replacement operation for a deficient anterior cruciate ligament.

Bacterial adherence to biomaterials and tissue. The significance of its role in clinical sepsis.

Abstract: The direct examination of tissue and biomaterials from prosthesis-related infections of twenty-five patients showed that the causative bacteria grew in glycocalyx-enclosed biofilms that were adherent to surfaces of biomaterials and tissues in 76 per cent. This high rate of recovery of adherent biofilm-mediated growth suggests that the process occurs commonly in the presence of a foreign body or biomaterial-related infection. Because of the adherent mode of growth of the infecting organisms, accurate microbiological sampling was difficult. The analysis of joint fluids or of swabs of excised tissue and of prosthetic surfaces often yielded only one species from what was a polymicrobial population based on electron microscopic studies. We adapted direct quantitative sampling methods from environmental microbiology in order to recover a large number of species from these infections, but comparison of the organisms isolated by these techniques with the morphological types that were seen by electron microscopy indicated that in some instances all bacterial components of the biofilms were still not being recovered.

Revision total hip arthroplasty.

Abstract: Two hundred and ten hips in 206 patients who had an initial total hip arthroplasty performed at the Mayo Clinic between 1969 and 1978 required revision of the arthroplasty at the Mayo Clinic for reasons other than infection. One hundred and sixty-two of the patients (166 hips) were followed both clinically and roentgenographically for two years or more. One hundred and forty-five (90 per cent) reported that they had improvement after the surgical revision. Complications that occurred with revision included deep sepsis, superficial would infection, dislocation, intraoperative femoral fracture, and postoperative femoral fracture. Roentgenographic analysis showed probable loosening in thirty-three acetabular components (20.1 per cent) and seventy-two femoral components (44 per cent). Symptomatic loosening (moderate to severe pain and probable roentgenographic loosening) was seen in thirty-five patients. Eight patients required a second revision for this reason, and seven others required a second revision for other reasons. Modified Harris hip scores, calculated for 108 hips, showed a good or excellent result in sixty-seven hips (62 per cent), a fair result in twelve (11 per cent), and a poor result in twenty-nine (27 per cent). Using a new Mayo Clinic hip score that incorporates roentgenographic data (which will be described) in the evaluation of 165 revised hips, there was a good or excellent result in eighty-five (52 per cent), a fair result in thirty-two (19 per cent), and a poor result in forty-eight hips (29 per cent). Although 90 per cent of the patients thought that their condition had improved, the high incidence of roentgenographic signs of probable loosening of a component is of serious concern.

Closed locked intramedullary nailing. Its application to comminuted fractures of the femur.

Abstract: For many fractures of the femoral shaft, closed intramedullary nailing will not control rotation or telescoping of the fragments. Locked intramedullary nailing combines closed nailing with the percutaneous insertion of screws that interlock the bone and nail. This method permits static locking that controls rotation and telescoping and subsequently conversion to dynamic locking when weight-bearing is started after approximately twelve weeks. By providing greater stability, this method extends the indications for intramedullary nailing to severely comminuted, oblique, and spiral fractures as well as to fractures complicated by loss of bone and fractures in the proximal and distal ends of the femoral shaft. Of fifty-two patients with forty-nine severely comminuted fractures of the femoral shaft and three fractures that were complicated by loss of bone, forty-seven patients had uneventful consolidation of the fracture, with a mean time of 4.5 months for the severely comminuted fractures and seven months for the fractures that had a loss of bone. At follow-up, all forty-seven patients had normal motion of the hip, and forty-five had normal motion of the knee. Of the remaining five patients, four had a non-union that eventually healed (three after a second locked nailing and one after a third) and one had a septic non-union that eventually healed after removal of the nail and screws, debridement, and immobilization with an external fixator. Based on this experience, we concluded that this form of treatment has many advantages. The risk of infection and non-union is low, the incidence and severity of malunion are reduced, the hospital stay is short, and early mobilization of the patient is possible.

Rupture of the distal tendon of the biceps brachii. A biomechanical study.

Abstract: In biomechanical studies on ten patients who had had a rupture of the distal tendon of the biceps brachii, we compared the results of immediate anatomical reattachment, delayed reattachment, and conservative treatment. When the tendon was simply attached to the brachialis muscle (one patient), there was nearly normal strength in elbow flexion but about 50 per cent loss of forearm supination. Late reinsertion (one patient) improved strength of both flexion and supination, but not to normal. Immediate reattachment (four patients) restored normal strength in flexion and supination at one year but not at four months (one patient). With conservative treatment (three patients) there was a mean loss of 40 per cent of supination strength and variable loss of flexion strength, averaging 30 per cent. These data suggest that immediate surgical reinsertion of the biceps tendon into the radial tuberosity, compared with other modes of treatment, restores more strength of flexion and supination.

Lower-extremity rotational problems in children. Normal values to guide management.

Abstract: We studied 1,000 normal lower extremities of children and adults in order to establish normal values for the rotational profile. The intrauterine position of the fetus molds the femur by rotating it laterally and molds the tibia by rotating it medially. These molding effects usually resolve spontaneously during infancy, and then genetically determined individual differences are unmasked. Rotational problems should be clinically evaluated and the findings compared with the normal values provided by this study. Out-toeing in infants, medial tibial torsion in toddlers, and medial femoral torsion in young children are extremes of a normal developmental pattern. In the vast majority, these rotational variations fall within the broad range of normal and require no treatment.

Rupture of the distal tendon of the biceps brachii. Operative versus non-operative treatment.

Abstract: We did Cybex testing of thirteen patients who had had a rupture of the distal tendon of the biceps brachii. The tests were performed fifteen months to six years after injury. The ten patients who had had a surgical repair through the two-incision technique showed a return to normal levels of strength and endurance with regard to both flexion of the elbow and supination of the forearm. The three patients who had had conservative treatment showed a remaining deficit in those parameters which was clinically evident in several activities, such as use of a screwdriver or baseball bat.

A relationship between gait and clinical changes following high tibial osteotomy.

Abstract: We studied the cases of twenty-one patients with high tibial osteotomy in order to determine the relationship between knee-joint loading during gait and clinical outcome. The patients were tested before surgery, one year after surgery, and again at an average of 3.2 years after surgery. An age-matched group of fifteen control subjects was also studied. The results of this study indicate that certain characteristics of preoperative walking are associated with postoperative clinical results. In particular, the moment tending to adduct the knee joint during walking preoperatively was predictive of postoperative clinical results. The patients were classified into a high adduction-moment group and a low adduction-moment group according to the magnitude of the knee-adduction moment. The adduction moment was reduced in both groups after high tibial osteotomy. However, the average postoperative adduction moments in the low adduction-moment group were still significantly lower than those in the high adduction-moment group. The two groups were indistinguishable on the basis of preoperative knee score, initial varus deformity, immediate postoperative correction, age, and weight. However, at an average 3.2-year follow-up, patients with low preoperative adduction moments had substantially better clinical results than did patients with high adduction moments. The low adduction-moment group had 100 per cent excellent or good clinical results, while only 50 per cent of the patients in the high adduction-moment group had an excellent or good result. Furthermore, there was a significant recurrence of varus deformity in the patients in the high adduction-moment group.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Rupture of the posterior tibial tendon causing flat foot. Surgical treatment.

Abstract: Rupture of the posterior tibial tendon results in a progressive, painful flat-foot deformity. Other physical findings are an inability to invert the heel on tip-toe standing and loss of inversion power. In this study we report on seventeen patients with this condition who were surgically treated with a transfer of the flexor digitorum longus tendon into the navicular or an advancement of the posterior tibial tendon. Follow-up results were excellent in twelve, good in one, fair in three, and poor in one patient. Arthrodesis of the talonavicular and calcaneocuboid joints was subsequently done for the patient with the poor result.

Prediction of vertebral body compressive fracture using quantitative computed tomography.

Abstract: We performed quantitative computed tomography in vitro on the first and third lumbar vertebrae in human cadavera using a dibasic potassium phosphate phantom for calibration. The quantitative computed-tomography numbers exhibited a significant positive correlation (R2 = 0.89, p less than 0.0001) with direct measurements of the apparent density of the vertebral trabecular bone. We also conducted uniaxial compression tests to failure of the vertebral bodies after removal of the posterior elements, and found that vertebral compressive strength was also correlated at a high level of significance (R2 = 0.82, p less than 0.0001) with direct measurement of the trabecular apparent density. These findings suggested the possibility that the quantitative computed-tomography values might be directly predictive of vertebral compressive strength. However, when we correlated the quantitative computed-tomography values directly with vertebral compressive strength, the results (R2 = 0.46, p less than 0.061) were suggestive but not quite significant. All vertebral bodies failed by compression of the end-plate, suggesting only a modest structural role for the cortical shell under these loading conditions. This was confirmed by comparing the compressive load to failure of twenty additional pairs of vertebrae that were tested with and without an intact vertebral cortex. Removal of the cortex was associated with approximately 10 per cent reduction in vertebral load to failure.

Surgery for full-thickness rotator-cuff tears.

Abstract: We reviewed the cases of 100 patients who were operated on for a tear of the rotator cuff and found significant improvements in pain in all of them and in function in the majority of patients. The size of the cuff tear did not significantly affect the results, although patients with a smaller tear tended to fare slightly better.

The management of traumatic spondylolisthesis of the axis.

Abstract: Fifty-two patients with traumatic spondylolisthesis of the axis were admitted to the University of Maryland Spinal Injury Center between 1977 and 1982. There were fifteen Type-I fractures, twenty-nine Type-II fractures, three Type-IIa fractures, and five Type-III fractures. Associated neurological deficits were found in only four patients, although unassociated neurological deficits such as closed head injury were seen in eleven patients. Thirteen patients had other fractures of the cervical spine. Type-I fractures were stable injuries and were treated with collar protection. Most Type-II injuries were reduced with the patient in halo traction, and then immobilization in a halo vest was used. Type-IIa injuries, as they showed increased displacement in traction, were reduced with gentle extension and compression in a halo vest. Type-III injuries were grossly unstable and required surgical stabilization. All of the fractures healed, although the use of early halo-vest immobilization for displaced fractures resulted in significant residual deformity. The radiographic patterns of the fracture types and the resulting data on clinical stability suggested a correlation between the fracture type and the mechanism of injury. Type-I injuries resulted from a hyperextension-axial loading force; Type-II injuries, from an initial hyperextension-axial loading force followed by severe flexion; Type-IIa injuries, from flexion-distraction; and Type-III injuries, from flexion-compression.

Fractures of the dens. A multicenter study.

Abstract: The treatment of fractures of the dens is often inadequate, and surgeons are divided in their opinions regarding the best surgical management of these potentially serious injuries Because of these concerns, the Cervical Spine Research Society conducted a multicenter survey of its membership regarding the management of these fractures Fractures of the dens can be effectively classified according to the anatomical level of the fracture, as described by Anderson and d'Alonzo We have found that the degree of angulation and amount of displacement are also important factors Fractures occurring at the junction of the dens with the vertebral body (Type-II fractures) were found to be the most troublesome The initial management of these fractures with a halo device was successful in only 68 per cent; however, posterior cervical fusion was successful in 96 per cent, and that appears to be the treatment of choice Fractures extending into the vertebral body (Type-III injuries) were found not to be as benign as has been reported Malunion and non-union occurred in patients with this injury who were treated with an orthosis alone, and a halo device or surgery may be indicated for unstable lesions

Chronic posterolateral rotatory instability of the knee.

Abstract: Posterolateral rotatory instability of the knee, usually accompanied by other instabilities, is easily missed, misdiagnosed, and mistreated. The correct diagnosis requires a complete examination of the knee, including both the external rotation-recurvatum and posterolateral drawer tests. The most effective operative approach when the lesion is interstitial or at the site of the femoral attachment consists of advancing the arcuate ligament complex and its osseous attachment anteriorly and distally on the femur to support the arcuate ligament repair. When the lesion is distal and the arcuate ligament attachment to the tibia and fibula is loose, this area must be stabilized. In a consecutive series of 140 patients, 141 knees were reconstructed with this procedure. Ninety-five patients (ninety-six knees), with a follow-up of two to thirteen years, form the basis for this report. Seventy-one of the patients had undergone a combined total of 112 prior operations on the knee without functional recovery. After surgery directed at the arcuate ligament complex, eighty-two knees (85 per cent) were objectively rated as good; thirteen (14 per cent), as fair; and one, as poor. Subjectively, seventy-five (78 per cent) of the patients considered the result to be good; twenty-one (22 per cent), fair; and none, poor. Functionally, seventy-seven (80 per cent) of the knees were rated by the patient as good; sixteen (16 per cent), as fair; and three (4 per cent), as poor. This is the first report on the long-term results of reconstruction of the arcuate ligament complex for the correction of chronic posterolateral rotatory instability. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the procedure.

A prospective, randomized study of the management of severe ankle fractures.

Abstract: One hundred and thirty-eight patients with a closed grade-4 supination-external rotation or pronation-external rotation ankle fracture (Lauge-Hansen classification) who were seen in the emergency room of the University of Chicago Hospitals were entered into a randomized study of the results of various methods of treatment. Ninety-six patients with satisfactory initial closed reduction were randomized between continued closed treatment in a plaster cast and open reduction with rigid internal fixation according to the techniques of the Association for the Study of Internal Fixation (ASIF). Forty-two patients with unsatisfactory closed reduction were randomized between open reduction with internal fixation of only the medial malleolus and open reduction with rigid internal fixation according to the ASIF techniques. Of the 138 patients who were admitted to the study, only seventy-one (51 per cent) could be followed for an average of 3.5 years (a typical return rate of urban trauma centers). The outcomes were evaluated by a scoring system that included clinical, anatomical, and arthritis scores. Statistical analysis of the data showed that, of the patients with initial satisfactory closed reduction, the ones treated by open reduction and rigid internal fixation had significantly higher total scores, particularly the patients who were more than fifty years old and those with a medial malleolar fracture. The small number of patients with unsatisfactory closed reduction who were treated by one of the two types of open reduction and internal fixation and were available for follow-up precluded drawing any conclusions about the superiority of one method of internal fixation over the other in that group. The difference in the talocrural angle between the injured and normal sides was the only statistically significant radiographic indicator of a good prognosis.

Intercondylar fractures of the humerus. An operative approach.

Abstract: In this paper we review a series of thirty-four intercondylar fractures of the distal end of the humerus that were treated by open reduction over a ten-year period. The fracture patterns were classified according to the system of Muller et al. and a strict rating scale incorporating subjective data, objective motion, and the functional status of the involved elbow was used for the results. At a mean follow-up of 5.8 years, thirteen results were rated as excellent; fourteen, as good; four, as fair; and three, as poor. Complications included postoperative neuritis in five patients; three non-unions; and refracture, heterotopic bone, and deep sepsis in one patient each.

The use of epidural steroids in the treatment of lumbar radicular pain. A prospective, randomized, double-blind study.

Abstract: Seventy-three patients with lumbar radicular pain syndromes were treated in a prospective, randomized, double-blind fashion with either seven milliliters of methylprednisolone acetate and procaine or seven milliliters of physiological saline solution and procaine. All patients had radiographic confirmation of lumbar nerve-root compression, consistent with the clinical diagnosis of either an acute herniated nucleus pulposus or spinal stenosis. No statistically significant difference was observed between the control and experimental patients with either acute disc herniation or spinal stenosis. Long-term follow-up, averaging twenty months, failed to demonstrate the efficacy of a second injection of epidural steroids administered to the patients whose pain did not respond within twenty-four hours to an injection of either eighty milligrams of methylprednisolone acetate combined with five milliliters of 1 per cent procaine or two milliliters of sterile saline combined with five milliliters of 1 per cent procaine. Therefore, a decision to use epidural steroids must be made with the realization that we failed to demonstrate its clinical efficacy in this study and that reports of serious complications of this procedure have been published.

Long-term results of revision total hip replacement. A follow-up report.

Abstract: The results of 110 revision total hip replacements performed for aseptic failure, with an average follow-up of 3.4 years, were reported in 1982. We were able to continue to follow ninety-nine of these patients for an average of 8.1 years (range, five to 12.5 years). With this longer follow-up, we found that twenty-nine (29 per cent) of these revised arthroplasties have since failed. Most of the failures after 1982 occurred in the hips that were known to have a progressive radiolucency at the time of the first evaluation. We concluded that there is an increased failure rate with longer follow-up of revision total hip replacement, and that progressive radiolucency at an interface indicates a poor prognosis for the arthroplasty.

The natural history of scaphoid non-union. A review of fifty-five cases.

Abstract: We reviewed the cases of fifty-six scaphoid non-unions in fifty-five patients, none of whom had received treatment of any kind before examination. In the thirty-two patients who had been injured five years or more earlier, arthritis developed in thirty-one (97 per cent). The one patient in whom osteoarthritis developed less than four years after injury also had avascular necrosis of the scaphoid. The incidence of osteoarthritis increased with time after injury. We concluded that patients with established scaphoid non-union should be advised that osteoarthritis will most likely develop.

Anterior decompression of traumatic thoracolumbar fractures with incomplete neurological deficit using a retroperitoneal approach.

Abstract: Between 1973 and 1981, seventy patients with a spinal cord injury secondary to a thoracolumbar fracture were treated by anterior spinal-canal decompression through a retroperitoneal approach. All of these patients had an incomplete neurological deficit caused by retropulsed vertebral-body fragments and intervertebral disc material in the spinal canal. Forty-eight patients have been followed for an average of 3.4 years (range, two to 8.6 years). Either computed tomography or lateral tomography, or both, was performed after surgery on these forty-eight patients, and confirmed the successful removal of the cause of compression in all of them. No patient lost further cord or cauda equina function after the anterior decompression. Thirty-seven of the forty-two patients who had a motor deficit improved by at least one class in motor strength. Fourteen of the thirty patients whose quadriceps and hamstrings were too weak to permit walking regained full independent walking ability. Twelve of the thirty-two patients who had a conus medullaris injury demonstrated neurogenic bowel and bladder recovery. The degree of neurological recovery of spinal cord injury after anterior spinal decompression of thoracolumbar fractures appears more favorable than after other, previously reported techniques that do not decompress the spinal canal.

Patellar dislocation following total knee replacement

Abstract: The reported incidence of patellar problems after total knee replacement has ranged from 5 to 30 per cent. Patellar dislocation is infrequent but can cause disabling symptoms. Between January 1974 and May 1982, eleven patients (twelve knees) with symptomatic lateral dislocation of the patella after total knee replacement were treated at The Hospital for Special Surgery by realignment of the extensor mechanism. All of the patients were women. Their average age was sixty-two years and average weight, eighty-seven kilograms. The diagnosis was osteoarthritis in seven knees and rheumatoid arthritis in five. Most of the patients had had preoperative valgus deformity (average, 18 degrees). The cause of dislocation was trauma in three knees, incorrect tracking of the patella after replacement in six, and malrotation of the tibial component in three. Four different prosthetic designs had been used. The design of the implant did not appear to be a factor causing dislocation in this group. The patellar dislocation was treated by proximal realignment of the quadriceps in ten knees, lateral retinacular release alone in one, and revision of the tibial and femoral components combined with proximal realignment in one. After an average follow-up of thirty-four months (range, twenty-four to fifty-seven months), the results according to The Hospital for Special Surgery knee-rating scale were excellent in ten knees and good in two, and there had been no redislocations.

The influence of skeletal implants on incidence of infection. Experiments in a canine model.

Abstract: We have performed experiments in 187 dogs in order to evaluate the effect of commonly used implant materials on rate of infection. We opened the femoral canal with a hand drill and awl, instilled a suspension of bacteria, and then inserted one of the implants. The implants--stainless-steel and cobalt-chromium alloys, high-density polyethylene, prepolymerized polymethylmethacrylate, and polymethylmethacrylate polymerized in vivo--were compared with no implant (control). The effect of the different implants on the incidence of infection with Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli was compared by determining the number of bacteria required to produce infection in 50 per cent of the femora. All of the implants were significantly more likely than the controls to be associated with infection with Staphylococcus aureus. Polymethylmethacrylate polymerized in vivo was found to be significantly more likely than all other implants to be associated with infection with Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus epidermidis. In addition to evaluating all specimens bacteriologically, we carried out a histological evaluation, and found that infection was highly correlated with an increased inflammatory response for all three bacteria. However, even with this highly statistically significant correlation, the correlation was not absolute; when only limited portions of randomly selected specimens of tissue were examined, the correlation was reduced.

Results of operative treatment of displaced external rotation-abduction fractures of the ankle.

Abstract: One hundred and fifty patients with a displaced fracture of the ankle caused by external rotation-abduction forces were treated by open reduction and rigid internal fixation. After an average follow-up of three and one-half years, the results were satisfactory in 90 per cent. Less satisfactory results were noted in the more severely injured ankles. We found that the ruptured deltoid ligament did not need to be repaired if the lateral side was anatomically and rigidly fixed; in the Maisonneuve fracture, restoration of the fibular length was as important as stabilization of the fracture; with the use of the suprasyndesmotic screw, walking was permissible with the screw in situ; conforming the plate to the bend of the lateral malleolus was essential; and as much as two millimeters of lateral residual displacement of the lateral and medial malleoli was compatible with a satisfactory result, as was a similar displacement of the talus provided there was anatomical restoration of the lateral side.

Long-term results of the Chrisman-Snook operation for reconstruction of the lateral ligaments of the ankle.

Abstract: The Chrisman-Snook procedure for instability of the lateral ankle ligaments, first described in 1969, reconstructs the anterior talofibular ligament and the calcaneofibular ligament using one-half of the peroneus brevis tendon, routed through tunnels in the fibula and calcaneus. In the present long-term evaluation of the results of this procedure, forty-eight of sixty ankles, in fifty-seven patients, were assessed after a mean follow-up of ten years (range, four to twenty-four years). The results were excellent in thirty-eight ankles, good in seven, fair in two, and poor in one. The two ankles with a fair result were improved but still had some persistent instability, while the ankle with a poor result (no improvement) was in a patient with generalized ligament laxity. All three patients with a fair or poor result had had a severe reinjury to the ankle. Based on the findings in this study, we concluded that this procedure will restore good long-term function in a high percentage of patients who are disabled by ankle instability due to unhealed or neglected tears of the lateral ligaments.

Complications of tension-band wiring of olecranon fractures.

Abstract: We encountered a high incidence of complications related to the technique of tension-band wire fixation of displaced fractures of the olecranon in a five-year retrospective study of twenty patients (twenty fractures). All had been treated with primary open reduction using the AO technique of tension-band wiring. Twenty patients were followed at least to union as determined radiographically. The most frequent complication was symptomatic prominence of the Kirschner wires at the elbow in sixteen patients. There was skin breakdown in four patients, and infection developed in one. Measurable proximal migration of the Kirschner wires, however, occurred in only three patients. Prominence of the Kirschner wires usually was due to improper seating at the time of surgery (twelve of sixteen patients). Most complications that are related to this method of fixation may be avoided by careful attention to surgical technique.

Long-term results of tibiotalar arthrodesis.

Abstract: One hundred and one tibiotalar arthrodeses were performed using a single surgical technique that has not been previously reported. The average follow-up was ten years (range, two to twenty-five years). The rate of pseudarthrosis was 5 per cent, four to five times less than in other recent large reports. Pseudarthrosis occurred only in patients with a sensory deficit. Secure fusion was radiographically documented in 95 per cent and the functional clinical result was good to excellent in 90 per cent. The ideal fusion position was found to be neutral or slight equinus angulation, and varus-valgus angulation equal to that of the contralateral side. More than 7 degrees of varus angulation of the heel was associated with symptomatic lateral metatarsalgia in all feet in which it occurred. Radiographic measurement documented an average 85 per cent (11-degree) increase in postoperative tarsal motion. Neither symptoms nor function correlated with the degree of tarsal hypermobility.