Radiographic abnormalities and clinical symptoms associated with patella alta in ambulatory children with cerebral palsy.

One hundred seventeen randomly selected, skeletally immature, ambulatory children with spastic cerebral palsy were evaluated with clinical examination and lateral radiographs of the knee. Radiographic abnormalities within either the patella or the proximal tibia were present in 21% (41 knees) of the 193 affected knees. The most common radiographic findings were elevation of the tibial tubercle in 34 knees and fragmentation of one pole of the patella in seven knees. Clinical symptoms including pain, swelling, and tenderness were present in 32% of those children with radiographic findings (13 of 41 knees). Patella alta was seen in nearly all children in the study. The radiographic findings appeared to be chronic, were usually asymptomatic, and have required no treatment to date.

Sever-L'Episcopo tendon transfer in obstetric brachial plexus palsy.

Obstetric brachial plexus palsy produces functional and cosmetic impairment. The Sever-L'Episcopo procedure has been successfully used to improve external rotation, primarily in younger patients. Previous studies have shown steady improvement in motion and function for 1 year from the date of surgery, with little additional change beyond this period. This is a retrospective study of 7 patients who have had the procedure at the Shriners Hospital for Children in Tampa, Florida. Functional and cosmetic results have been uniformly excellent at an average follow-up of 1 year 3 months. No complications have occurred. In addition, the degree of improvement seen in our relatively older patient population has not been previously detailed in the literature.

Use of allograft bone for posterior spinal fusion in idiopathic scoliosis.

Eighty-seven adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis (77 female and 10 male patients) who underwent posterior spinal fusion with instrumentation using only allograft bone for graft material were evaluated retrospectively. The average age at surgery was 14 years 3 months. Each patient had a minimum 2-year followup, with an average of 3 years 5 months followup. The average preoperative curve was 59 degrees thoracic (range, 31 degrees-90 degrees) and 52 degrees lumbar (range, 21 degrees-65 degrees). At followup, the thoracic curve measured an average of 35 degrees and the lumbar curve measured an average of 34 degrees. The average loss of correction from the immediate postoperative period until last followup was 6.5 degrees or 11% in the thoracic curve and 10 degrees or 19% in the lumbar curve. There were seven reoperations; one of these reoperations involved repair of a pseudarthrosis. There was one clinical infection. The typical patient had a 2-ounce allograft at an average cost of $800. The patients' average loss of correction, complication rate, and reoperation rate compare favorably with results reported in other series using autograft bone. The authors of this study showed the ability of allograft bone to produce reliable results with a satisfactory outcome. The potential advantages of using allograft must be weighed against the potential disadvantages before recommending its routine use.

Results of the Scoliosis Research Society instrument for evaluation of surgical outcome in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. A multicenter study of 244 patients.

STUDY DESIGN: An outcome questionnaire was constructed to evaluate patient satisfaction and performance and to discriminate among patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. OBJECTIVES: To determine reliability and validity in a new quality-of-life instrument for measuring progress among scoliosis patients. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Meta-analysis of the surgical treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis determined that a uniform assessment of outcome did not exist. In addition, patient measures of well-being as opposed to process measures (e.g., radiographs) were not consistently reported. This established the need for a standardized questionnaire to assess patient measures in conjunction with process measures. METHODS: The instrument consists of 24 questions divided into seven equally weighted domains as determined by factor analysis: pain, general self-image, postoperative self-image, general function, overall level of activity, postoperative function, and satisfaction. The questionnaire takes approximately 5 minutes to complete and is taken at predetermined time intervals. A total of 244 of patients from three different sites responded to the questionnaire. RESULTS: The reliability based on internal consistency was confirmed with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient greater than 0.6 for each domain. In addition, acceptable correlation coefficient values greater than 0.68 were obtained for each domain by the test-retest method on normal controls. Similarly; to establish validity of the questionnaire, responses of normal high school students were compared with that of the patients. Consistent differences were noted in the domains between the two groups with P < 0.003. The largest differences were in pain (control, 29.96 +/- 0.20; patient, 13.23 +/- 5.55) and general level of activity (control, 14.96 +/- 0.20; patient, 12.16 +/- 3.23). Examination of the relationship between the domains and patient satisfaction showed that pain correlates with satisfaction to the greatest degree (Pearson's correlation co-efficient, r = -0.511; P < 0.001), followed by self-image (r = 0.412; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This questionnaire addresses patient measures for evaluation of outcome in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis surgery by examining several domains. It also allows for dynamic monitoring of scoliosis patients as they become adults. This is a validated instrument with good reliability measures.

Effect of proximal phalangeal epiphysiodesis in the treatment of macrodactyly.

The recommended treatment for macrodactyly of the foot will often include epiphysiodesis of the proximal phalanx in an attempt to halt further longitudinal growth of the toe. Nine patients who underwent open epiphysiodesis and debulking of the excess soft tissues involving 11 toes were reviewed to evaluate the effectiveness of this procedure. In 9 of 11 toes, overall length of the proximal phalanx did not change after surgery. Two toes demonstrated continued growth; one of these toes underwent a repeat epiphysiodesis of the phalanx, and the other foot underwent epiphysiodesis of the affected metatarsal. Overall, this surgical approach led to radiographic results that satisfied the surgical goals.

Does sympathetic blockade prevent the physiologic changes associated with tourniquet use in children?

This study investigated a means of controlling the altered physiologic effects that occur when tourniquet inflation time is > or = 50 min during orthopaedic surgery in children. Forty patients were assigned randomly, 20 in each group. Both groups received inhalational anesthesia for induction. The control group had nitrous/narcotic with inhalation anesthesia for maintenance. The other group received a sympathetic blockade with 0.5% epidural bupivacaine, which was confirmed with the use of thermography technique and supplemented with 0.5-1% isoflurane. Duration of surgery and length of tourniquet inflation time were equal in the two groups. There was a significant difference in physiologic changes related to the tourniquet inflation time. The group with sympathetic blockade had only minor changes in blood pressure, pulse rate, and temperature compared with the control group.

Residual bone cysts after correction of severe foot deformities with the Ilizarov technique.

Fourteen patients with severe foot deformity treated by application of the Ilizarov device were evaluated for residual bone changes in the foot. Cyst formation was noted in all patients, most commonly in the base of the fifth metatarsal. These cysts did not develop in the area of bone penetrated by the wires. In an average follow-up of 3.4 years after device removal, the cysts did not resolve. Histologic examination of one resected cyst demonstrated an empty lacuna with no cell lining, as seen in the "cysts" associated with osteoarthrosis.

Effect of intrathecal opioids on somatosensory-evoked potentials during spinal fusion in children.

STUDY DESIGN: Intraoperative recording of somatosensory-evoked potentials is useful for monitoring spinal cord tolerance during spinal fusion with instrumentation. Volatile anesthetic agents are known to have prominent suppressive effects on somatosensory-evoked potentials. This study evaluates the effect of intrathecal administration of opioid, consisting of morphine sulfate and sufentanil, on somatosensory-evoked potential monitoring. OBJECTIVES: To study the effect of different anesthesia techniques on somatosensory-evoked potentials during spinal fusion. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: The effect of intravenous narcotic administration on somatosensory-evoked potentials has been well studied and reported. This study shows the effect of intrathecal opioids on somatosensory-evoked potentials. METHODS: Ten patients scheduled for spinal fusion with Cotrel-Dubousset instrumentation were induced with thiopental and maintained with intrathecal morphine sulfate (20 micrograms/kg) and sufentanil 50 micrograms, supplemented with isoflurane 0.5% air and oxygen. Routine monitoring was done, including arterial line and continuous somatosensory-evoked potentials. Anesthesia was maintained constant, with a mean blood pressure of 55 mm Hg. Normocarbia and normothermia were maintained. Baseline somatosensory-evoked potentials were recorded using bilateral posterior tibial nerve stimulation, with constant somatosensory-evoked potential monitoring after the induction of anesthesia. RESULTS: There were no significant changes in either latencies or amplitudes in cortical somatosensory-evoked potentials after opioid injection at any time during the surgical procedures. CONCLUSIONS: Somatosensory-evoked potential monitoring was possible in all patients undergoing extensive spinal surgery. Intrathecal opioid anesthesia with low concentrations of isoflurane in air and oxygen seems to have no effects on somatosensory-evoked potentials.

Talocalcaneal coalition in patients who have fibular hemimelia or proximal femoral focal deficiency. A comparison of the radiographic and pathological findings.

The prevalence of congenital anomalies of the foot was studied in ninety-nine children (105 limbs) who had fibular hemimelia or proximal femoral focal deficiency, or both. Twenty-six of these patients had had a Syme amputation at our institution and the specimens were analyzed anatomically; they were found to include fourteen talocalcaneal coalitions (54 per cent). The preoperative radiographs of these same patients, however, revealed only four such coalitions (15 per cent). Thirty-seven of the ninety-nine patients had had a Syme amputation previously at another facility (with subsequent follow-up at our institution), and ten of them (ten feet) had radiographs that were adequate for analysis of congenital anomalies. Forty-two feet that had not yet been amputated were also analyzed radiographically. Nine of these fifty-two feet included in the radiographic analysis had a talocalcaneal coalition, a radiographic prevalence similar to that found on the preoperative radiographs of the twenty-six patients included in the anatomical analysis. The true prevalence of talocalcaneal coalition remains to be determined; however, this can be done only at the time of skeletal maturity. Examination of the twenty-six amputation specimens revealed only one talocalcaneal coalition in the nine patients who had proximal femoral focal deficiency alone, six such coalitions in the eight patients who had only fibular hemimelia, and seven coalitions in the nine patients who had both proximal femoral focal deficiency and fibular hemimelia. These findings should be useful in the evaluation of the radiographic anatomy of the feet in children who have proximal femoral focal deficiency or fibular hemimelia, or both, particularly if limb-lengthening is considered as a treatment option.

Premature greater trochanteric epiphysiodesis secondary to intramedullary femoral rodding.

Five skeletally immature patients developed premature closure of the greater trochanteric physis consequent to placement of an intramedullary rod for primary treatment of a femoral diaphyseal fracture. Each patient developed increased femoral neck valgus as compared with the contralateral hip. To date, however, none of these patients has had any functional disability, although one has developed mild radiographic subluxation. In addition, anatomic specimens demonstrated the likelihood of traversing a portion of the greater trochanteric physis. Other methods of fracture treatment, either operative or nonoperative, should be considered in skeletally immature patients who have not entered the final phase of skeletal maturation characterized by subchondral "sclerosis" along the greater trochanteric physis.

Congenital lipofibromatosis associated with macrodactyly of the foot.

Congenital lipofibromatosis of the foot, a type of paracrine growth disorder, is a distinct clinical entity that must be differentiated from other causes of macrodactyly, with specific diagnostic and therapeutic considerations. Eleven skeletally immature patients with congenital lipofibromatosis and macrodactyly of the foot were studied. Diagnostic histopathologic criteria were documented. The most specific pathologic finding of congenital lipofibromatosis is an overabundance of fibrofatty tissue on the plantar aspect of the foot and involved toes. Surgical defatting or debulking procedures, ray resection, and phalangeal epiphysiodesis produced significant cosmetic improvement. Syndactylization and phalangeal resection were not as beneficial.

Hypoplastic clavicles and lateral scapular redirection.

Three patients with bilateral hypoplastic clavicles and anterolateral displacement of the shoulders and scapulas on the thoracic cage are described. One patient had no family history of the disorder. The mother of the other patient had the same condition, suggesting an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern. In all three patients, the clavicle was underdeveloped and the scapula was redirected onto the lateral rather than the posterior thorax, bringing the entire shoulder forward. None of the patients have any significant functional restriction.

Distal ulnar physeal injury.

We reviewed 18 patients and two traumatic amputation specimens with injuries involving the distal ulnar physis. Type 1 growth mechanism injuries were the most common fracture pattern with premature physeal closure and ulnar shortening occurring in 55% of the patients. Other consequences included radial bowing, ulnar angulation of the distal radius, and ulnar translocation of the carpus. Most of the patients, however, were asymptomatic. Initial radiographic diagnosis of this physeal injury may be difficult because of the relatively late ossification of the distal ulnar physis. Concomitant ulnar physeal injuries must be suspected in any injury to the distal radius, especially when an ulnar metaphyseal or styloid fracture is not readily evident.

Operative treatment of congenital pseudarthrosis of the clavicle.

Eight children were treated operatively with resection of fibrous pseudarthrosis and sclerotic bone ends, careful dissection and preservation of the periosteal sleeve to maintain continuity, and approximation of bone ends. None had additional bone grafts or internal fixation. All had bridging ossification 6-8 weeks postoperatively, and all were solidly healed by 14 weeks after surgery. Follow-up has ranged from 2 to 14 years, with no evidence of recurrence. Remodeling of the prominence occurred slowly in 2-5 years, with the distal clavicle variably underdeveloped in all patients. Early resection of fibrous pseudarthrosis probably does not require the extensive grafting and internal fixation that has been recommended for older children.

Avulsion fractures of the patella.

Forty-seven skeletally immature patients with marginal fractures of the patella were evaluated. We showed that avulsion fractures may affect the superior, inferior, and medial margins of the patella, separating through the subchondral bone along the biomechanically susceptible margin of progressive chondroosseous transformation and expansion of the ossification center. In children, the small size of the osseous fragment may belie the actual size of the more peripheral, radiolucent cartilaginous component. Treatment may be either conservative or operative, depending on the extent of separation of the fragments and the functional capacity of the patellar/quadriceps mechanism.

Anatomy of the os trigonum.

Three anatomic specimens of os trigonum from skeletally immature patients demonstrated anatomic continuity of the cartilage containing the ossicle with the body of the talus, with a synchondrosis being present between the two ossifying regions. The os trigonum may be considered a developmental analogue of a secondary ossification center similar to the posterior calcaneal apophysis (although there are obvious histologic differences). The chondro-osseous border of the synchondrosis may be injured either as a chronic stress fracture or, less frequently, as an acute fracture, comparable to the injury patterns involving the accessory navicular.

Fractures of the calcaneal apophysis.

Eleven patients with 12 open or closed fractures of the calcaneal apophysis were reviewed. The patterns of fracture varied, although all could be classified by a scheme similar to that used for physeal injuries in the long bones. Open injuries involved young children and were associated with subsequent maldevelopment of the posterior (nonarticular) portion of the calcaneus due to growth mechanism damage. The other susceptible age group, adolescence, had two patients with slipped calcaneal apophysis (type 1 injury), similar to slipped capital femoral epiphysis, and three patients with a splitting fracture through the apophysis and physis into the main part of the calcaneus (type 4 injury). Microscopic physeal injury was also observed in the calcaneus of a fatally injured boy.

The painful accessory navicular: a clinical and histopathological study.

Twenty-two skeletally immature patients with 39 accessory tarsal navicular bones were seen over a 4-yr period. Twenty-five of the feet with accessory naviculars were symptomatic and, after failure of conservative treatment, were treated by excision of the accessory bone, the synchondrosis, and the prominent portion of the main navicular ossification process. No attempt was made to reroute the posterior tibial tendon. All 25 operative feet were completely relieved of the preoperative pain. The external oblique view was found to be the best radiographic view to demonstrate the accessory navicular. Histological findings in the surgical specimens included areas of micro-fracture through the cartilaginous synchondrosis, acute and chronic inflammation, and cellular proliferation indicative of attempted repair. These changes are consistent with the theory that chronic chondro-osseous tensile failure can occur in this condition and is responsible for the clinical findings.

Chondro-osseous growth abnormalities after meningococcemia. A clinical and histopathological study.

The cases of nine children who survived the acute stage of meningococcal septicemia and secondary disseminated intravascular coagulation were reviewed. All of the children had major orthopaedic problems as a result of the acute disease. Detailed histological studies were performed on specimens of bone and cartilage, obtained when these patients had either acute amputation for gangrene or subsequent revision for a chondro-osseous deformity. In the specimens that were obtained from the children who had acute gangrene, the histological changes included small-vessel thrombi, osteonecrosis, subperiosteal new-bone formation, cortical disruption, cellular disorganization in the physis, and medullary inflammation. These findings were compatible with a combination of inflammation (acute osteomyelitis) and ischemia. In the specimens that were obtained during revision of the amputation, three years or more after the initial infectious or ischemic process, the clinically relevant findings involved the epiphyses and physes. The growth plates showed variable permanent ischemic damage. Bone bridges connecting the epiphysis and metaphysis were observed in various stages of formation, including several early bridges with involvement of only the physis and metaphysis. Endosteal and cortical bone, in contrast, showed complete recovery with no evidence of permanent ischemic damage. We concluded that children who survive meningococcal septicemia are at high risk for complex orthopaedic problems, both acute and chronic. The disseminated intravascular coagulation and focal infections of the acute phase are primarily responsible for the vascular injuries to the growing chondro-osseous tissues. Ischemic changes also selectively involve the physeal circulation, but may take several years to adversely affect longitudinal and transverse growth of bone.