Conventional high tibial osteotomy for osteoarthritis of the medial compartment of the knee with closed-wedge or dome osteotomy (DMO) may produce shortening of the patellar tendon and loss of inclination of the proximal tibial plateau or of the offset of the tibial condyle relative to its bony axis. This can make subsequent total knee arthroplasty technically demanding.

We undertook a prospective study comparing these changes after DMO with those after using open-wedge osteotomy hemicallotasis (HCO). A total of 50 knees with arthritis of the medial compartment in 46 consecutive patients was randomly allocated to either DMO or HCO. There were no significant differences between the groups with regard to age, gender, femorotibial angle before operation or the angle of correction.

Radiological studies showed that HCO caused little change in the length of the patellar tendon or the inclination angle of the tibial plateau, while after DMO both gradually decreased. The degree of tibial condylar offset increased in both groups, but less so in the HCO group.

We investigated the incidence of evidence of irritation of the brachial plexus in 119 patients with whiplash injuries sustained in road-traffic accidents. We compared the symptoms, physical signs, autonomic status, psychological status and findings from radiographs of the cervical spine using examination charts and a modified Cornell Medical Index Health questionnaire, in patients in two distinct groups: those with irritation of the brachial plexus and those without.

There were 45 patients (37.8%) in the first group. The ratio of women to men was significantly higher in patients with irritation of the plexus as was the incidence of symptoms other than neck pain. There was no significant difference between the two groups with regard to psychological status or findings in radiographs of the cervical spine. Symptoms and signs attributable to stretching of the brachial plexus do occur in a significant proportion of patients after a whiplash injury. Their presence and persistence are associated with a poor outcome.

We describe the results of conservative treatment for complete midsubstance tears of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in 18 skeletally immature patients, followed for a minimum of 36 months. Six patients had an ACL reconstruction during the follow-up period and were assessed immediately before their operation. The average time from initial injury to evaluation was 51 months. All patients had symptoms when reviewed. The modified Lysholm knee score showed one excellent result, one good, eight fair, and eight poor with a mean score of 64.3. Only one patient had returned to her preinjury level of athletics. Secondary meniscal tears were confirmed in six patients, and three more had the clinical signs of a tear at follow-up. Radiological evidence of degenerative changes was found in 11 of the 18 patients. We conclude that the results of non-operative treatment for ACL injuries in this age group are poor and not acceptable.