We report 14 cases of symptomatic ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) diagnosed in non-oriental men between 1978 and 1985. All 14 patients had incomplete spinal cord syndromes due to OPLL in the cervical spine and had been referred undiagnosed from other institutions. Twelve had severe myelopathy and seven were wheelchair-bound before OPLL was diagnosed, while six patients had had operations elsewhere for their neurological dysfunction. There was a close association between OPLL and diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (Forestier's disease) on plain radiographs, seven patients having both disorders. Enhanced CT scans proved to be the best diagnostic method for the localisation of cord compression, and magnetic resonance imaging, used on four recent cases, provided the best visualisation of the extent of involvement in the sagittal plane. We aim to heighten awareness of OPLL in non-orientals, in whom the clinical features, histological characteristics, and radiographic patterns are very similar to those of oriental patients

We have considered the reasons for securing containment of the femoral head in Perthes' disease and have reviewed briefly the methods used. The present investigation describes the outcome in a controlled series of forty-eight hips treated by containment by femoral varus-rotation osteotomy in selected patients. In assessing the results we have emphasised that controls are essential, and for this purpose we have used two comparable groups, one untreated and the other treated by methods other than containment. The same factors were considered in assessment--namely age, duration, group, and the presence or absence of "at risk" signs. The results were graded similarly as good, fair and poor in all groups. We have concluded that containment by femoral osteotomy is the treatment of choice in patients with "at risk" signs provided that severe deformity has not already occurred. There is no evidence that treatment of any kind favourably influences the course of the disorder in the remainder. Although this is predominantly a radiological study some clinical features are discussed

Aims

With novel promising therapies potentially limiting progression of Dupuytren’s disease (DD), better patient stratification is needed. We aimed to quantify DD development and progression after seven years in a population-based cohort, and to identify factors predictive of disease development or progression.

1. The three age types of acute haematogenous osteomyelitis are conditioned in their respective clinical features by the differing nature of their vascular bone pattern. 2. In the infant the condition causes severe and often permanent epiphysial damage and joint infection, a large involucrum but only transient damage to the shaft and metaphysis. 3. In the child the condition is responsible for extensive cortical damage with involucrum formation, but, except for some stimulation of growth, permanent damage to the growth cartilage and to joints is exceptional. Chronicity of the disease is rare if treatment has been effective. 4. In the adult acute osteomyelitis of the long bones is rare. It causes very frequent joint infection; the cortex is absorbed instead of sequestrating. The whole of the bone is invaded and frequently leaves chronic infection in the bone marrow. 5. The vascular characteristics of the bones in each age group and their relation to the onset of infection are described. 6. Some general directives for management based on these facts are suggested

We describe 12 children with idiopathic scoliosis who had a persistent absent superficial abdominal reflex (SAR) on routine neurological examination. MRI showed syringomyelia to be present in ten. The average age at detection of the scoliosis was 4.3 years and at diagnosis of syringomyelia 6.6 years. In all ten children the SAR was consistently absent on the same side as the convexity of the curve. In two it was the only abnormal neurological sign. An absent SAR in patients with scoliosis is an indication for investigation for underlying syringomyelia. In the children with syringomyelia, six had thoracic and four thoracolumbar curves. The clinical features differed in the two groups. Patients with thoracic curves were generally asymptomatic. Their neurological signs were subtle and none had any motor signs. By contrast, patients with thoracolumbar curves had symptoms and neurological signs. Abnormal gait was present in all four patients with thoracolumbar curves. In three this was due to considerable motor weakness. In eight children syringomyelia was associated with a Chiari-I malformation. In seven the syrinx was treated surgically by decompression of the foramen magnum

1. Skeletal and other clinical features in twenty-three patients with homocystinuria have been compared with those in sixteen patients with Marfan's syndrome. 2. The two diseases are clinically similar but florid arachnodactyly and scoliosis are commoner in Marfan's syndrome, whereas widening of epiphyses and metaphyses of long bones is a distinctive feature of homocystinuria. 3. Patients with homocystinuria frequently have osteoporosis at a young age with a high incidence of vertebral involvement including biconcavity and flattening. Patients with Marfan's syndrome do not have osteoporosis and may have excessively tall vertebrae. 4. Mental retardation and thrombosis are common in homocystinuria and uncommon in Marfan's syndrome. 5. Homocystinuria is most probably inherited as an autosomal recessive and Marfan's syndrome as an autosomal dominant. 6. The two diseases should be differentiated because of the thrombotic risk in homocystinuria, and also because in this disease there is a possibility of treating the biochemical defect. 7. Although patients with homocystinuria may present to the orthopaedic surgeon with osteoporosis, severe genu valgum or scoliosis, the disease is an uncommon cause of these defects

1. An analysis has been made of the clinical features and investigations in ninety-five cases of primary intraspinal tumours. 2. Loss of muscle power was the commonest symptom, and was often ignored until late in the course of the disease. 3. Two-thirds of the patients had no pain in the spinal region, although five of these had either extensive growths or radiographical evidence of bone erosion by tumour. 4. One-third of the patients had urinary symptoms, and two of them had acute retention initially attributed to prostatic obstruction. 5. In eighteen cases posture and gait were abnormal. The case histories of five of these patients are recorded, and they emphasise the importance of recognising lumbar spasm and hamstring tightness in young patients as signs of a cauda equina neoplasm. 6. All patients had some detectable sensory, motor, or reflex changes, and these were mostly bilateral. 7. Radiography, and cerebrospinal fluid manometry and analysis, were helpful in establishing the diagnosis. 8. Hysteria should not be diagnosed until all efforts have been made to prove otherwise

The clinical features of nine new patients with dysplasia epiphysialis hemimelica are reported, with a long-term follow-up on a further seven patients who were described in the earliest case reports of this disease. Each of these 16 patients had only one leg involved, but 12 had multiple epiphyses affected. The distal femur, distal tibia and talus were the commonest sites and most patients presented with painless swelling or deformity. Wasting of the muscles of the affected leg was a common finding, and was occasionally disproportionate to the degree of disuse. One patient had the unique combination of involvement of the lateral and medial halves of different epiphyses in the same limb and another had unusual metaphysial changes. Diagnosis was often delayed despite typical radiographic appearances. There was no evidence for a genetic component in the aetiology nor was any common environmental factor identified. Treatment by local excision was generally effective for lesions in the vicinity of the knee, but some patients with involvement of the talus required arthrodesis around the ankle. The long-term prognosis appears to be good and so far only two of these patients have developed premature osteoarthritis

1. Radiography of the spines of thirty-three West African patients recently recovered or dead from tetanus revealed vertebral fractures in nineteen. These fractures occurred most frequently in the fourth to eighth thoracic vertebrae. 2. The spines of 111 Nigerians from the same area of West Africa were examined, measurement of the areas and shape of the vertebral bodies carried out, and the proportional incidence of articular shelves and laminar spicules was calculated. 3. The upper mid-thoracic vertebral bodies are relatively long and narrow and have but little greater cross-sectional area than those immediately above them; possessing no neural arch supports to sustain longitudinal compressive forces in flexion, they are at greatest hazard during tetanic spasms. 4. Analyses of these factors and of the clinical features, together with experimental observations drawn from the literature, are used to explain the prevalence of upper mid-thoracic vertebral fractures as a complication of tetanus in West Africans, and in particular the greater degree of compression and higher incidence found in children. 5. Vertebral fracture is not usually an important complication of tetanus; it causes little pain, does not prolong the illness, gives rise to no permanent disability and has no effect on the mortality

Aims

Urgent referral to a specialist centre for patients with a soft-tissue sarcoma (STS) has been recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in the UK since 2006. However, the impact of this recommendation on the prognosis for these patients remains unclear. We aimed to determine the impact of the NICE guidelines on the disease-specific survival (DSS) of patients with an STS.

1. Although fractures and dislocations of the talus have been described since 1608 the rarity of the more severe and complicated injuries has meant a dearth of accurate descriptions or classification in the literature. 2. A series of 228 injuries of the talus occurring in members of the Royal Air Force between 1940 and 1943 has been reviewed. 3. A simple but comprehensive classification of injuries of the talus is presented, together with a review of the pathological anatomy, clinical features, and methods of treatment. The importance of distinguishing between fractures and fracture-dislocations, and of watching carefully for displacements of the subtalar joint, is emphasised. 4. The important complications—infection, avascular necrosis and traumatic arthritis of the ankle or subtalar joint—are discussed. Infection may be the result of a compound injury, or may follow sloughing of the skin stretched over a displaced talus. Early reduction is, therefore, of great urgency in closed injuries. Avascular necrosis of the talus occurs in gross injuries when all or most of the soft-tissue attachments to the bone are severed. Revascularisation and regeneration will take place with patient conservative treatment. 5. The mechanism of injury is discussed. 6. The results of excision of the talus are poor. Every effort should be made to preserve the body of the talus, but if its loss is inevitable a useful foot can be regained by deliberate fusion of the tibia to the calcaneum

1. A description is given of historical discoveries relating to intermittent claudication. Various theories that have been advanced are discussed. A hypothesis, based on the work of Lewis, is elaborated. 2. A classification of obliterative arterial disease is outlined. The three groups that are distinguished are: primary thrombosis of the popliteal artery; juvenile obliterative arteritis; and senile obliterative arteritis. 3. The methods adopted for assessment of the severity of disease, including study of the clinical features, arteriographic findings, results of novocain infiltration and examination of the patient on a walking machine, are reported. 4. Methods of treatment by Buerger's exercises, contrast baths, intermittent venous occlusion and suction pressure; by lumbar ganglionectomy ant paravertebral block with phenol; by vitamin E (α-tocopherol) therapy; by treatment with thiouracil antistin; by internal popliteal myoneurectomy and division of the external popliteal and posterior tibial nerves; and by tenotomy of the tendo Achillis, are discussed. 5. It is concluded that tenotomy of the tendo Achillis should replace myoneurectomy in Type 3 cases where the blood supply is so far reduced that vascular stability cannot be achieved, and that it might apply in Type 2 cases in which there is persistent pain at a steady level. 6. The results of treatment in 276 patients with intermittent claudication are recorded

Aims

Few studies have investigated potential consequences of strained surgical resources. The aim of this cohort study was to assess whether a high proportion of concurrent acute surgical admissions, tying up hospital surgical capacity, may lead to delayed surgery and affect mortality for hip fracture patients.

Aims

Microbiological culture is a key element in the diagnosis of periprosthetic joint infection (PJI). However, cultures of periprosthetic tissue do not have optimal sensitivity. One of the main reasons for this is that microorganisms are not released from the tissues, either due to biofilm formation or intracellular persistence. This study aimed to optimize tissue pretreatment methods in order to improve detection of microorganisms.

Aims

The Mathys Affinis Short is the most frequently used stemless total shoulder prosthesis in the UK. The purpose of this prospective cohort study is to report the survivorship, clinical, and radiological outcomes of the first independent series of the Affinis Short prosthesis.

1. Three cases are reported of ischaemic necrosis of the anterior tibial muscles which were not due to injury. In two, ischaemia was the result of strenuous or unaccustomed exercise in young adults; in the third it was an incident in a systemic disturbance. All three cases were probably the result of spasm of a large segment of the anterior tibial artery. 2. The clinical features during the first few hours resemble those of tenosynovitis of the tibialis anterior; and after twelve to twenty-four hours those of cellulitis of the leg. Later there is "drop foot" due to muscle weakness, contracture limiting plantar-flexion movement, and woody hardness of the muscles in the middle third. 3. The morbid histology is similar to that of Volkmann's ischaemic contracture. 4. The possible explanations—primary arterial disease, arterial occlusion by pressure of the interosseous membrane, occlusion by tension within the fascial space, intraluminary occlusion by embolism or thrombosis, and fatigue arterial spasm, are discussed. 5. The vascular pattern of the anterior tibial muscles has been studied by experimental injections in cadavers. 6. It is concluded that the most likely cause is spasm of the anterior tibial artery due to muscle fatigue, aggravated by increased tension within the anterior fascial compartment due to reaction after strenuous exercise. 7. Treatment is outlined. Exploration of the anterior tibial artery within the first twelve hours is warranted, but late exploration may be dangerous. 8. Although not previously recognised, evidence is shown that regeneration of necrotic muscle is possible in the human being

1. The clinical features of hyperostosis cranii are briefly reviewed. In large series of cases the syndrome has been found to occur almost entirely in females. 2. In recent studies of dystrophia myotonica, it is apparent that hyperostosis cranii is one of the variable features of the disorder. This disease occurs equally among males and females and the hyperostosis cranii also is distributed equally among males and females. 3. Hyperostosis cranii also occurs in patients with Morgagni's syndrome, with acromegaly, and as "senile hyperostosis.". 4. The etiology of hyperostosis is still a matter for speculation. More recent studies have focused attention on the endocrine system, and it seems probable, in view of the sex distribution in dystrophia myotonica, that the key to the problem may be found in this disorder. 5. In dystrophia myotonica the characteristic skull changes are hyperostosis cranii, a small pituitary fossa, excessive sinus formation and prognathism. These are acromegaloid changes. Gonadal atrophy is a common feature and endocrine study suggests that the endocrine defect is primarily a failure of the androgenic function of the adrenals and the testes. 6. In rodents and in humans ablation of the gonads leads to overactivity of gonadotrophic cells and, at times, of somatotrophic cells. Sometimes pituitary tumours develop. 7. Acromegaloid features may occur in eunuchs, and it is likely that the acromegaloid changes in dystrophia myotonica are of the same order from overactivity of growth hormone. 8. In animals excess of growth hormone produces thickening of the skull. 9. In dystrophia myotonica, acromegaly, and Morgagni's syndrome, it is suggested that hyperostosis cranii is an expression of unrestrained activity of growth hormone

Aims

Diagnosis of cauda equina syndrome (CES) remains difficult; clinical assessment has low accuracy in reliably predicting MRI compression of the cauda equina (CE). This prospective study tests the usefulness of ultrasound bladder scans as an adjunct for diagnosing CES.

Displaced extension supracondylar fractures of the elbow 1. One hundred and ten children were treated by reduction and stabilisation by two pins inserted laterally at an angle of 30 degrees to one another. 2. The complications before and after treatment included fifteen nerve lesions in thirteen patients. The ulnar nerve was involved on one occasion only. Solitary radial nerve injuries occurred with postero-medial displacement of the distal fragment, while median nerve and brachial artery injuries were associated with postero-lateral displacement. All the lesions recovered spontaneously. 3. There were no ischaemic complications after treatment, despite the ligation of one ruptured brachial artery. 4. The average stay in hospital was four days, compared with twenty days for thirty-two other patients treated in traction because of gross oedema. 5. Of eighty patients seen six months to five years after the fracture, seventy (or 87·5 per cent) had excellent or good results, seven patients with marked varus deformities had fair results, and two patients had poor results with very stiff elbows. Displaced flexion fractures 1. The clinical features, complications and treatment of seventeen cases are described. 2. There were no complications involving the median or radial nerves or the brachial artery, but three patients had a lesion of the ulnar nerve. 3. Nine children had closed reduction and fixation by two lateral percutaneous pins. 4. Reduction was difficult and the results poor compared with extension fractures. Closed reduction failed in one-third of the children, and the functional and cosmetic results were unsatisfactory in over half the patients reviewed