Alice L. Garrett

Recovery of Motor and Intellectual Function in Children Sustaining Severe Head Injuries

Forty‐six patients aged from 2 to 18 years were evaluated 1–7 years after sustaining severe head trauma. The average duration of coma in this series was 7 weeks.

The halo. A spinal skeletal traction fixation device.

Experience with 204 patients has demonstrated that the halo traction apparatus is a safe, effective method of traction and immobilization for the cervical and upper thoracic spine. The unit, its application, and its management are described in detail.

The Orthopaedic Management of Brain-Injured Children

This survey emphasizes the important role the orthopaedic surgeon plays in the treatment of brain-damaged children. In one institution in ten years, 122 brain-damaged children were admitted and 112 were evaluated: 21 per cent walked in the first year after injury, and 83 per cent walked at the time of final evaluation; 68 per cent of the patients had joint deformities on admission, and 8 per cent had joint deformities at discharge. Scoliosis occurred in four patients, limb-length inequalities in three, and ectopic ossification in six. The problems of management of a total of sixty-nine fractures were described. Internal fixation was necessary in two of the fractured femora and would have been advisable in a third.