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Few risk factors for rotator cuff disease (RCD) and corresponding treatment have been firmly established. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between numerous risk factors and the incidence of surgery for RCD in a large cohort.

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Arthroplasty skills need to be acquired safely during training, yet operative experience is increasingly hard to acquire by trainees. Virtual reality (VR) training using headsets and motion-tracked controllers can simulate complex open procedures in a fully immersive operating theatre. The present study aimed to determine if trainees trained using VR perform better than those using conventional preparation for performing total hip arthroplasty (THA).

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Chronic low back pain due to degenerative disc disease is sometimes treated with fusion. We compared the outcome of three different fusion techniques in the Swedish Spine Register: noninstrumented posterolateral fusion (PLF), instrumented posterolateral fusion (IPLF), and interbody fusion (IBF).

We performed a prospective genotype-phenotype study using molecular screening and clinical assessment to compare the severity of disease and the risk of sarcoma in 172 individuals (78 families) with hereditary multiple exostoses. We calculated the severity of disease including stature, number of exostoses, number of surgical procedures that were necessary, deformity and functional parameters and used molecular techniques to identify the genetic mutations in affected individuals. Each arm of the genotype-phenotype study was blind to the outcome of the other. Mutations EXT1 and EXT2 were almost equally common, and were identified in 83% of individuals. Non-parametric statistical tests were used. There was a wide variation in the severity of disease. Children under ten years of age had fewer exostoses, consistent with the known age-related penetrance of this condition. The severity of the disease did not differ significantly with gender and was very variable within any given family. The sites of mutation affected the severity of disease with patients with EXT1 mutations having a significantly worse condition than those with EXT2 mutations in three of five parameters of severity (stature, deformity and functional parameters). A single sarcoma developed in an EXT2 mutation carrier, compared with seven in EXT1 mutation carriers. There was no evidence that sarcomas arose more commonly in families in whom the disease was more severe. The sarcoma risk in EXT1 carriers is similar to the risk of breast cancer in an older population subjected to breast-screening, suggesting that a role for regular screening in patients with hereditary multiple exostoses is justifiable

Between 1986 and 1994, 13 patients with mobile painful arthritic elbows were treated by distraction interposition arthroplasty using fascia lata. The mean period of follow-up was 63 months. An elbow distractor/fixator was applied for three to four weeks to separate the articular surfaces and to protect the fascial graft. Nine of the 13 patients (69%) had satisfactory relief from pain; eight (62%) had an excellent or good result by the objective criteria of the Mayo Elbow Performance score. Four have required revision to total elbow arthroplasty at a mean of 30 months with good results to date. Instability of the elbow, both before and after surgery, was found to be associated with unsatisfactory results. The rate of success when the procedure was performed for inflammatory arthritis was similar to that for post-traumatic arthritis, about 67%. Eight complications occurred in six patients, all in the group with post-traumatic arthritis. Two of these required further surgical procedures such as transposition of the ulnar nerve or repair of hernia of the fascia lata. Although less reliable than prosthetic replacement, distraction interposition arthroplasty is a useful option in the treatment of young, high-demand patients with arthritis of the elbow. It is rarely indicated in the presence of generalised inflammatory arthritis, but may be of value in those patients in whom the disease is limited primarily to the elbow

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This study aimed to evaluate the incidence and prognosis of patients with spinal metastasis as the initial manifestation of malignancy (SM-IMM).

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This single-centre observational study aimed to describe the results of extensive bone impaction grafting of the whole acetabular cavity in combination with an uncemented component in acetabular revisions performed in a standardized manner since 1993.

A total of 455 patients aged over 70 years with a displaced intracapsular fracture of the proximal femur was randomised to be treated either by hemiarthroplasty or internal fixation. The preoperative characteristics of the patients in both groups were similar. Internal fixation has a shorter length of anaesthesia (36 minutes versus 57 minutes, p < 0.0001), lower operative blood loss (28 ml versus 177 ml, p < 0.0001) and lower transfusion requirements (0.04 units versus 0.39 units, p < 0.0001). In the internal fixation group 90 patients required 111 additional surgical procedures while only 15 additional operations on the hip were needed in 12 patients in the arthroplasty group. There was no statistically significant difference in mortality between the groups at one year (61/226 versus 63/229, p = 0.91), but there was a tendency for an improved survival in the older less mobile patients treated by internal fixation. For the survivors assessed at one, two and three years from injury there were no differences with regard to the outcome for pain and mobility. Limb shortening was more common after internal fixation (7.0 mm versus 3.6 mm, p = 0.004). We recommend that displaced intracapsular fractures in the elderly should generally be treated by arthroplasty but that internal fixation may be appropriate for those who are very frail

Survival analysis of joint replacement relies on the assumption that surgical procedures in patients lost to follow-up have the same chance of failing as those in patients who continue to be assessed. Our study questions that assumption. During the 16-year follow-up of 2268 patients who had received total hip replacements 142 (6%) were lost to follow-up. The cumulative loss at 15 years was 20%. At their last assessment, patients who subsequently failed to attend for follow-up had significantly worse pain, range of movement and opinion of their progress (p < 0.001) and significantly worse radiological features than a matched control group (p < 0.01). Patients lost to follow-up have a worse outcome than those who continue to be assessed. Consequently, a survival analysis that does not take into account such patients is likely to give falsely optimistic results. It is therefore essential that vigorous attempts are made to minimise loss to follow-up, and that the rate of such loss is quoted. The overall loss to follow-up disguises the magnitude of the problem, which is best quantified by a cumulative rate of follow-up. The reliability of a study can be assessed by a loss-to-follow-up quotient, calculated by the number of failures: the lower the quotient the more reliable the data. Ideally, the quotient should be less than 1

Aims

In a randomized controlled trial with two-year follow-up, patients treated with suture button (SB) for acute syndesmotic injury had better outcomes than patients treated with syndesmotic screw (SS). The aim of this study was to compare clinical and radiological outcomes for these treatment groups after five years.

We have treated 16 patients with recurrent complex elbow instability using a hinged external fixator. All patients had instability, dislocation or subluxation of the ulnohumeral joint. The injuries were open in eight patients and were associated with 20 other fractures and five peripheral nerve injuries. Two patients had received initial treatment from us; 14 had previously had a mean of 2.1 unsuccessful surgical procedures (1 to 6). The fixator was applied at a mean of 4.8 weeks (0 to 9) after the injury and remained on the elbow for a mean of 8.5 weeks (6 to 11). After treatment we found the mean range of flexion-extension to be 105° (65 to 140). At a final follow-up of 23 months (14 to 40), the mean Morrey score was 84 (49 to 96): this translated into one poor, three fair, ten good and two excellent results. Complications included one fractured humeral pin, one temporary palsy of the radial nerve, one recurrent instability, one wound infection, one severe pin-track infection and one patient with reflex sympathetic dystrophy. Although technically demanding, the use of the fixator is an important advance in the management of recurrent complex elbow instability after failure of conventional treatment

Surgical decompression of the spinal canal is presently accepted worldwide as the method of treatment for thoracolumbar burst fractures with neurological deficit in the belief that neurological recovery may be produced or enhanced. Our clinical and laboratory experience, however, indicates that the paralysis occurs at the moment of injury and is not related to the position of the fragments of the fracture on subsequent imaging. Since the preoperative geometry of the fracture may be of no relevance, our hypothesis, backed by more than two decades of operative experience, is that alteration of the canal by ‘surgical clearance’ does not affect the neurological outcome. We have reviewed the existing world literature in an attempt to find evidence-based justification for the variety of surgical procedures used in the management of these fractures. We retrieved 275 publications on the management of burst fractures of which 60 met minimal inclusion criteria and were analysed more closely. Only three papers were prospective studies; the remainder were retrospective descriptive analyses. None of the 60 articles included control groups. The design of nine studies was sufficiently similar to allow pooling of their results, which failed to establish a significant advantage of surgical over non-surgical treatment as regards neurological improvement. Significant complications were reported in 75% of papers, including neurological deterioration. Surgical treatment for burst fracture in the belief that neurological improvement can be achieved is not justified, although surgery may still occasionally be indicated for structural reasons. This information should not be withheld from the patients

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The aim of this study was to characterize the relationship between pre- and postoperative opioid use among patients undergoing common elective orthopaedic procedures

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The aim of this study was to compare the surgical and quality-of-life outcomes of children with skeletal dysplasia to those in children with idiopathic early-onset scoliosis (EOS) undergoing growth-friendly management.

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Biopsy of the periprosthetic tissue is an important diagnostic tool for prosthetic joint infection (PJI) as it enables the detection of the responsible microorganism with its sensitivity to antibiotics. We aimed to investigate how often the bacteria identified in the tissue analysis differed between samples obtained from preoperative biopsy and intraoperative revision surgery in cases of late PJI; and whether there was a therapeutic consequence.

Low lumbar pain with radiation into the leg is a common symptom pattern caused by a number of pathological processes. Isolated disc resorption is one such entity which can be readily identified and is amenable to surgical treatment. This study consisted of two groups of patients. Group I were 50 patients suffering from isolated disc resorption at L5--S1 with ill-defined low backache extending into the buttocks and down one or both legs, but not into the feet. Clinical signs of nerve root dysfunction were found in 16 per cent of patients. Radiographic changes with loss of disc height, facet over-riding and intrusion into the nerve root canal and intervertebral foramen were common and frequently associated with sclerosis of the vertebral end-plate. Group II were a series of 45 patients with isolated disc resorption independently reviewed an average of 45 months after surgical decompression of the S1 (98 per cent) or lower lumbar nerve roots. Based on objective grading by the clinician and subjective assessment by the patient complete success was achieved in 62 per cent of the patients and partial success in 24 per cent. Provided there is full appreciation of the pathological anatomy, strict diagnostic criteria and meticulous surgery, decompression of the nerve root canal is a useful surgical procedure in severely disabled patients suffering from isolated disc resorption

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Open fractures of the tibia are a heterogeneous group of injuries that can present a number of challenges to the treating surgeon. Consequently, few surgeons can reliably advise patients and relatives about the expected outcomes. The aim of this study was to determine whether these outcomes are predictable by using the Ganga Hospital Score (GHS). This has been shown to be a useful method of scoring open injuries to inform wound management and decide between limb salvage and amputation.

1. The long-term results of 740 European patients suffering from spinal tuberculosis and treated without and with specific anti-tuberculous drugs have been surveyed. 2. The results of treatment by conservative methods and by conventional surgical methods have been compared in the two periods. The attainment of spinal stability as judged by serial examination of radiographs was the main criterion in assessing healing. 3. Although the results of conventional treatment have improved since the advent of chemotherapy, the credit is mainly due to the influence of more frequently and more expertly applied operations. 4. With chemotherapy the well tried medical and surgical procedures produce stable spines in three-quarters of cases. With early operation on the lesion the results are better and more quickly obtained. Of eighty spines on which focal surgery was performed during the past twelve years before the lesions had become extensive, seventy-seven (9·62 per cent) healed by bone. The average duration of hospitalisation after such operation was four and a half months. No patient has had to be readmitted. 5. The difficulties and possible dangers of these methods must be emphasised. The operations are difficult and dangerous when the lesions have been allowed to get out of hand and become unduly extensive. They are contra-indicated in cases where there is very marked deformity. 6. Training in special techniques of operation is necessary. Duplicated drainage of the hemithorax after thoracotomy is essential, and skilled after-care is important if good results are to be obtained