Prognostic value of Catterall and Herring classification in Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease: follow-up to skeletal maturity of 32 patients.

To compare the prognostic value of the Catterall and Herring classification, 32 patients, treated without surgery for unilateral Perthes diseases, were reviewed and classified at skeletal maturity according to Stulberg. The Catterall classification had no significant prognostic correlation with the final outcome. Only some head at-risk signs, such as lateral epiphyseal calcification and epiphyseal subluxation >4 mm, were prognostic. The Herring lateral pillar was not predictive when it was considered alone, but it became prognostic when related to age at onset. Moreover, in group C of the Herring classification (lateral pillar <50%), the final outcome was better in children younger than 6 years. This last observation strengthens the opinion that age and related residual skeletal moulding are also of prognostic value in Perthes disease.

Macrodactyly of the foot associated with plexiform neurofibroma of the medial plantar nerve.

A case of macrodactyly of the foot associated with plexiform neurofibroma of the digital branches of the medial plantar nerve is reported. The purpose of this article is to investigate the nature of the association of the rare localization of macrodactyly with a pathognomonic feature of von Recklinghausen disease. The case was approached by semiconservative surgical treatment. Two-year follow-up has shown no relapse of the deformity. These facts suggest that this case of macrodactyly was sustained by an underlying disorder, namely, a "forme fruste" of neurofibromatosis, implying the existence of a still unknown pathogenetic mechanism.