A subjective, objective and radiographic study of 21 patients with comminuted calcaneal fractures showing severe involvement of the subtalar joint is reported. The average follow-up was 14.6 years (range 8 to 29 years). Only patients with unilateral closed fractures and no associated injuries to either lower limb were admitted to the study. All were treated by early active mobilisation of the ankle, and the subtalar and the midtarsal joints. Seventy-six per cent of the patients achieved a good result with minor symptoms which did not interfere with their occupation or leisure requirements. Although two-thirds of the patients reached a point of maximal recovery at two to three years, 24% continued to improve for six years. None of the patients experienced any deterioration after this time. Neither the degree of clinical stiffness nor the degeneration of the subtalar joint, assessed radiographically, correlated with the severity of symptoms or functional disability. The role of the soft tissues in the aetiology of residual symptoms is discussed.
The clinical presentation and treatment of 18 cases of osteoid osteoma or osteoblastoma of the spine are described, with an average follow-up of 4.2 years (range three months to 11.5 years). The average delay between the onset of symptoms and definitive diagnosis was 19 months. All patients presented with marked spinal stiffness and a painful scoliosis. The lesion was situated in the pedicle in the 15 patients with involvement of the thoracolumbar spine. A surgical approach allowing direct access to the pedicle without entering the spinal canal or jeopardising spinal stability is described. Surgical treatment afforded immediate relief of pain and an early return of full spinal mobility.
The behaviour pattern of the scoliosis associated with osteoid osteoma or osteoblastoma of the spine is described. In patients presenting with symptoms at or around skeletal maturity, the scoliosis is postural. Excision of the lesion ensures complete resolution of the curve. In the growing child, however, an initial postural scoliosis may develop vertebral rotation with structural characteristics. The magnitude of the curve and the associated vertebral rotation is dependent on the time interval between the onset of symptoms and the surgical treatment. Although removal of the lesion usually results in regression of the curve, a prolonged delay in treatment may result in a progressive structural scoliosis. A possible mechanism for the behaviour of the scoliosis is discussed.
The long-term results of 17 patients who had had fusion in situ for severe lumbosacral spondylolisthesis are reported. The average follow-up was 14 years with a range of 7 to 20 years. The average age at operation was 16 years. At follow-up seven patients had occasional backache but only one patient had changed his job and no patient had lost any time off work in the previous year. Nine patients felt that their deformity had been improved and all but one patient still rated the results as excellent up to 20 years after the operation. Although all the patients had persistent foreshortening of the trunk only two patients were aware of any cosmetic deformity. There had been no significant increase in forward slip since the previous follow-up examination five years after the operation. There were no late complications nor significant degenerative changes in the lumbar spine. It is concluded that although fusion in situ does little to improve cosmesis very few patients complain about their appearance and that it is a safe and reliable method of treatment for severe spondylolisthesis which has stood the test of time.
Seventy-eight patients who had been operated on for bony entrapment of lumbar nerve roots were studied in an attempt to define the clinical syndrome, and to assess the results of a new technique of decompression which preserves spinal stability. The mean age of the patients was 45 years and 28 of them had previously undergone spinal operations. Pain in the leg was the predominant symptom, with evidence of motor involvement in half of the patients. Signs of nerve root tension were found in only one-third of the patients. The principal factor in the aetiology was degenerative change in the posterior facet joints. Decompression was achieved by a partial undercutting facetectomy. Fifty-nine per cent of the patients obtained a "good" result and 85 per cent were satisfied with the result of their operation. Successful partial facetectomy for bony entrapment of lumbar nerve roots produced rapid and lasting relief of pain.
A series of 100 patients with pain in the leg was studied and the accuracy of electrical studies in the diagnosis of nerve root lesions was investigated before operation. The electrical studies which were performed on all the patients, included recordings of fibrillation potentials, H-reflex and ankle reflex latencies. This diagnosis technique was found to be more accurate than radiculography or clinical examination and did not give false evidence. Seventy patients were classed as having a lesion of the nerve root. Fifty of these patients were treated surgically. The operation revealed compression of the nerve root by osteophytes arising from degenerative and incompletely dislocated posterior facet joints in 43 patients.
1. The clinical and radiological results of seventy-one osteotomies for primary osteoarthritis of the hip performed with internal fixation have been examined two to eight years after operation. Advanced cases where osteotomy would have been purely a salvage procedure were excluded. 2. The hips were divided into two groups: one in a relatively early and the other in a later intermediate stage of the disease. The two criteria for inclusion in the "early" group were 3. The clinical results show that early osteotomy seldom fails to give relief of pain, which is closely correlated with improved function and a favourable assessment of the operation by the patient. A good range of flexion, not less than 70 degrees and frequently 90 degrees, is retained when the criteria mentioned above obtain. 4. The radiological assessment was based upon examination of the joint space, the cystic appearances and the degree of collapse of bone, if any, as seen in serial films. There was convincing evidence of regression indicating arrest of the arthritic process in 70 per cent of the "early" cases. 5. Regression after osteotomy appears to be a well-defined process which is more commonly observed and more complete when the osteotomy is performed sooner rather than at a later stage of the disease. With few exceptions a good radiological result is associated with a good clinical result. 6. Some of the possible causes of failure are discussed. Osteotomy is more likely to fail if delayed till stiffness is severe and collapse of bone has begun. Large cysts, rapid advance of the disease, and a valgus osteotomy in the presence of lateral subluxation may also prejudice the results. 7. This review offers good support for Nissen's suggestion that in primary osteoarthritis of the hip osteotomy should be performed early, while the joint is still mobile and capable of repair, in order to retain good function. 8. Relief from pain is not the only consideration in deciding when to operate; the prospects of arresting the disease and of stimulating a healing reaction in the disordered cancellous bone and articular cartilage by early osteotomy should always be kept in mind. 9. In many respects the findings of this review are complementary to those of Postel and Vaillant (1962) who reported excellent results from varus osteotomy of Pauwels' type in a series of cases of subluxation of the hip with pain but without frank secondary osteoarthritic change.
