Reconstruction of a medial tibial plateau defect using a "pillar" bone graft--a report of two knee reconstructions.

A technique of reconstructing a large tibial plateau defect has been described using a solid bone graft as a pillar to hold up the tibial component of a total knee replacement. The advantage of using a solid bone graft is that there is good initial structural support for the tibial component. This enables early mobilisation. This method has worked well in the two knees reported. Other methods of reconstructing a tibial plateau defect are discussed.

Fire walking in Singapore: a profile of the burn patient.

Fire walking is a religious ritual practised mainly by Indians, but also by some Chinese, living in Singapore. Seventeen new cases of burns sustained after a fire walking ceremony are reported. All the patients were males. One patient was Catholic, the others being Hindus. All the patients were Indians. The mean age of the patients was 25.47 years (range 19-56 years). All the patients had burns on the feet only. Of the 17 patients, 15 had burns on the non-weight-bearing area of the foot, one had burns on the weight-bearing area of the foot and one had burns on both the weight-bearing and the non-weight-bearing areas of the foot. The mean percentage of total body surface area affected was 0.81% (range 0.25-1.25%). The burn injuries were either erythema or partial thickness burns. The mean duration of disability was 21.4 days (range 14-35 days). Of those burnt, three were novices, six had walked twice and the remaining eight had walked three to 16 times. The profile of a fire walker is generally a young Indian with partial thickness injuries on one or both feet involving the non-weight-bearing area.

Long-term results of combined anterior and posterior convex epiphysiodesis for congenital scoliosis due to hemivertebrae.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective review of patient records with recent clinical and radiologic assessment. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the long-term result of anterior and posterior convex ephiphysiodesis in the management of congenital scoliosis resulting from fully segmented nonincarcerated hemivertebra. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Thirty patients (16 male/14 female patients) were reviewed. Follow-up was a minimum of 3 years (average, 8 years 10 months; range, 3-22.5 years). Nineteen patients were skeletally mature, and the mean age of the remaining 11 was 11.75 years. METHOD: Clinical evaluation and sequential measurements of Cobb angle was made independently by two observers. RESULTS: Compared with preoperative values, the rate of change in Cobb angle was reversed in 23 patients, arrested or slowed in five patients, and unchanged or progressed in two patients. The annual rate of change in Cobb angle was +1.9 degrees before surgery and -1.2 degrees after surgery, a difference of 3.1 degrees. This is highly statistically significant (P < 0.001). Total correction in Cobb angle correlates with age at time of surgery (P < 0.03). The rate of correction in Cobb angle after surgery correlates with the total correction achieved (P < 0.001) and with age at time of surgery (P < 0.05). The greater correction is achieved when surgery is performed at a young age. The preoperative rate of increase in Cobb angle does not correlate with correction (P < 0.76). The site of the hemivertebrae influenced final outcome with best results in the lumbar spine. CONCLUSION: Combined anterior and posterior convex epiphysiodesis is a reliable method for the correction of deformity resulting from hemivertebrae.

Long-term results of convex epiphysiodesis for congenital scoliosis.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the long term outcome of combined anterior and posterior convex spinal epiphysiodesis in the treatment of congenital scoliosis. The study covered 53 patients (27 male, 26 female) with a minimum follow up period from surgery of 3 years (mean 8.8 years, range 3-22.5 years). Of these, 34 were skeletally mature when reviewed. Clinical assessment and sequential measurement of Cobb angles were used to chart the course of the deformity following surgery. The types of vertebral anomalies encountered were: 4 unsegmented bars, 7 unsegmented bars with hemivertebrae, 30 hemivertebrae (of which 2 were double hemivertebrae) and 12 complex (unclassifiable) patterns. The severe types were concentrated in the thoracic spine. Results are presented with reference to the type and site of anomaly and to the age of the patient at the time of surgery. Where deformity was due to an unsegmented bar (with or without hemivertebra) the rate of change of Cobb angle was slowed, but not reversed, following surgery. For the complex anomalies there was a reduction in the rate of progression of deformity following surgery, however, the final Cobb angle still increased from a mean of 61 degrees to 70 degrees. In contrast, the rate of progression reversed or slowed in 97% of the hemivertebra patients following surgery, producing a change in mean Cobb angle from 41 degrees pre-operatively to 35 degrees post-operatively. For each type of anomaly the correction achieved was greater where the surgery was performed at a younger age. Final outcome was influenced by the site of anomaly, with a better correction being achieved in the lumbar than the thoracic spine. In conclusion, we feel that convex epiphysiodesis has an important role in the surgical management of congenital scoliosis and, for hemivertebrae in particular, it can produce significant correction of deformity.