Tarsal tunnel syndrome

Thirty-nine feet with tarsal tunnel syndrome were studied in 34 patients. The diagnosis was based on clinical and electrophysiological data. The mean age of the patients was 38.3 years, and 18 patients were males [52.9%] Occupations requiring prolonged standing were present in 25 patients [73.5%]. Nineteen patients had received medical treatment which failed. All feet were treated surgically by slitting of the flexor retinaculum to decompress the posterior tibial nerve. Moreover, slitting of the fibro-osseous opening in the origin of the abductor hallucis was done to decompress the medial and lateral plantar nerves. Satisfactory results were obtained in 36 feet [92.3%] after a follow up period of 3 - 15 months. The improvement was significant as regards the distal motor latency [t = 8.46, P 0.001] and insignificant as regards the amplitude of the evoked muscle action potential [t = 1.2, P 0.05]. Abnormalities of the nerve or the contents of the tarsal tunnel were found in 13 feet [38.5%]. No apparent abnormality was detected macroscopically in the remaining 26 feet

Austin Moore hemiarthroplasty: results of treatment of 48 cases

One hundred and seven patients operated upon by Austin Moore hemiarthroplasty were reviewed. Only 48 cases attended the final follow up. Early complications were studied in the 107 patients, fractures of the upper end of the femur were found to occur in 18.7% of the cases. The high percentage of such complication may be due to the high incidence of osteoporotic cases in our series. Post-operative dislocation, wound infection and sciatic nerve palsy also occurred at lower rates which coincides with the values reported by other investigators. Late complications such as protrusio acetabuli, loosening and distal migration were also found to occur more in severely osteoporotic cases. These complications were studied and compared with those reported by other authors