Pavel Dungl

The Pavlik harness in the treatment of congenital dislocating hip: report on a multicenter study of the European paediatric orthopaedic society

The results of functional treatment using the Pavlik harness in congenital dislocation and congenital dysplasia of the hip in children aged < 11 months were examined by an EPOS study group. This study was conducted on 3,611 hips in 2,636 patients for a period of 1–9 years after treatment. The reduction rate was 92% in grade Tonnis 2 and 3; the healing rate was 80%. In children with dysplastic hips, the healing rate was 95.35%. Avascular necrosis of the femoral head was observed in 2.38%. The Pavlik harness is designed for outpatient treatment if the parents are compliant.

Treatment approaches for congenital pseudarthrosis of tibia: results of the EPOS multicenter study. European Paediatric Orthopaedic Society (EPOS).

&NA; This study was designed to analyze the different therapeutic methods used by European Paediatric Orthopaedic Society members from 13 countries for congenital pseudarthrosis of tibia. The treatment data of 340 patients who underwent 1287 procedures for this condition were analyzed. The essential findings were that the method of choice needed to approach the biological problem with the aims of: (1) resecting the pseudarthrosis to provide stability, the basic requirement for bony consolidation; (2) correcting length discrepancy and axial deformity; (3) achieving fusion; and (4) solving the additional problems around the main deformity such as alignment, leg length discrepancy and ankle valgus. The Ilizarov technique emerged as being the optimal method, having the highest rate of fusion (75.5%) of pseudarthrosis and rate of success in correction of the additional deformities. There was also consensus that surgery should be avoided before the third year of life.

Congenital pseudarthrosis of the tibia: history, etiology, classification, and epidemiologic data.

&NA; Congenital pseudarthrosis of the tibia is a rare disease with a variable history. The pseudarthrosis is usually not present at birth (and therefore is not truly congenital) but occurs during the first decade of life. Paget in 1891 was the first to describe a case. The etiology is unknown. Neurofibromatosis plays a role in approximately 50% of patients. In the others, hereditary and mechanical factors are debated. Various (morphologic) classification systems have been proposed (Andersen, Boyd, Crawford). Because the appearance changes during the course of the disease, all classification systems have limited value: the determining factor is the stage of the disease at which it was classified. Because of the rarity of the disease and the variability of its history, the European Pediatric Orthopaedic Society decided to carry out a multicenter study on this disease. This paper presents the epidemiologic data on the patients involved. Data have been gathered on 340 patients from 13 countries. Two hundred patients were male (58.8%), 140 were female (41.2%). The right side was affected in 165 patients (48.5%) and the left side in 172 (50.6%); 3 patients had bilateral disease. Symptoms of neurofibromatosis were present in 54.7%. Histologic examinations in 192 patients showed a nonspecific appearance in 45.3%; in 15.6% the ultrastructure resembled fibrous dysplasia, and in 39% there was histologic evidence of neurofibromatosis. Most of the lesions were initially localized in the middle or distal third of the tibia. In 29% the localization changed during the course of the disease.

Cortical Thickness Mapping to Identify Focal Osteoporosis in Patients with Hip Fracture

Background Individuals with osteoporosis are predisposed to hip fracture during trips, stumbles or falls, but half of all hip fractures occur in those without generalised osteoporosis. By analysing ordinary clinical CT scans using a novel cortical thickness mapping technique, we discovered patches of markedly thinner bone at fracture-prone regions in the femurs of women with acute hip fracture compared with controls. Methods We analysed CT scans from 75 female volunteers with acute fracture and 75 age- and sex-matched controls. We classified the fracture location as femoral neck or trochanteric before creating bone thickness maps of the outer ‘cortical’ shell of the intact contra-lateral hip. After registration of each bone to an average femur shape and statistical parametric mapping, we were able to visualise and quantify statistically significant foci of thinner cortical bone associated with each fracture type, assuming good symmetry of bone structure between the intact and fractured hip. The technique allowed us to pinpoint systematic differences and display the results on a 3D average femur shape model. Findings The cortex was generally thinner in femoral neck fracture cases than controls. More striking were several discrete patches of statistically significant thinner bone of up to 30%, which coincided with common sites of fracture initiation (femoral neck or trochanteric). Interpretation Femoral neck fracture patients had a thumbnail-sized patch of focal osteoporosis at the upper head-neck junction. This region coincided with a weak part of the femur, prone to both spontaneous ‘tensile’ fractures of the femoral neck, and as a site of crack initiation when falling sideways. Current hip fracture prevention strategies are based on case finding: they involve clinical risk factor estimation to determine the need for single-plane bone density measurement within a standard region of interest (ROI) of the femoral neck. The precise sites of focal osteoporosis that we have identified are overlooked by current 2D bone densitometry methods.

Free vascular fibular transfer in congenital pseudoarthrosis of the tibia: results of the EPOS multicenter study. European Paediatric Orthopaedic Society (EPOS).

&NA; This paper presents a review of the literature, describes the principal authors (B.R.) personal experience and provides the results of the European Paediatric Orthopaedic Society (EPOS) multicenter study. The objective is to evaluate the present status and future role of free vascular fibular transfer in treating congenital pseudoarthrosis of the tibia. Variables such as the selection of cases, age at operation, technical surgical details and postoperative results will be considered. The data on the EPOS study were incomplete at the time of writing, but the considerable amount of information already amassed is a valuable contribution to this updated report.

Functional results at the end of skeletal growth in 30 patients affected by congenital pseudoarthrosis of the tibia.

&NA; From a multicentric study on Congenital Pseudoarthrosis of the tibia (CPT) conducted on 340 patients, we evaluated the functional results on a group of thirty patients who were at the end of skeletal growth (age ≤ 16 years). The prognosis of CPT is very much related to the radiologic classification. Crawford type 2 and Crawford type 4 pseudoarthrosis have a worse prognosis, with a lower percentage of fusion at the site of pseudoarthrosis. Crawford 4 patients have the worst functional results. Most of them showed a severe leg length discrepancy, needed a permenent brace, with an ankle joint function fair or poor. The presence of fibula pseudoarthrosis seems to be responsible for most of the worst functional results. The level of deformity caused by either the natural course of the disease or its treatment, is decisive in the evalution of the functional results.

Lengthening for congenital short femur. Results of different methods

We have reviewed the results in 37 patients with unilateral congenital short femur (Pappas classes III to IX), treated by different lengthening procedures. The increase in the length of the femur varied from 15.6% to 142%, excellent or good results being obtained in 32 patients (86%). There was an average of 1.9 complications per case, most being seen earlier in the series when the Wagner technique was used. With the Orthofix and the Ilizarov techniques, we used callus distraction in all cases. We found that the proximal diaphysis of the congenitally abnormal femur healed less well, and we now prefer to perform corticotomy and callus distraction of the distal metaphysis. The Ilizarov method gave the best results, offering the possibilities of the simultaneous use of a Hoffmann fixator across the hip and the treatment of knee dislocation and instability.

The fibula in congenital pseudoarthrosis of the tibia: the EPOS multicenter study. European Paediatric Orthopaedic Society (EPOS).

&NA; Fibular involvement in congenital pseudoarthrosis of the tibia (CPT) can be either a rare isolated pathology or is in association with the tibial changes. Out of 282 patients with CPT who had complete radiographic work‐up, 62% (almost two thirds) demonstrated fibular pathology: 36% had true fibular pseudoarthrosis and the rest, i.e., 26% had fibular hypoplasia or dysplastic fibula. Neurofibromatosis was found in 62% of the patients with fibular pathology. The typical radiological features of tibial pseudoarthrosis are often missing in patients with fibular pathology. It is most probably because fibular changes precede the tibial involvement. In 250 patients with tibial surgical treatment, the highest rate of fusion occurred in patients with fibular involvement compared with those with normal fibula.

Focal osteoporosis defects play a key role in hip fracture.

Background Hip fractures are mainly caused by accidental falls and trips, which magnify forces in well-defined areas of the proximal femur. Unfortunately, the same areas are at risk of rapid bone loss with ageing, since they are relatively stress-shielded during walking and sitting. Focal osteoporosis in those areas may contribute to fracture, and targeted 3D measurements might enhance hip fracture prediction. In the FEMCO case-control clinical study, Cortical Bone Mapping (CBM) was applied to clinical computed tomography (CT) scans to define 3D cortical and trabecular bone defects in patients with acute hip fracture compared to controls. Direct measurements of trabecular bone volume were then made in biopsies of target regions removed at operation. Methods The sample consisted of CT scans from 313 female and 40 male volunteers (158 with proximal femoral fracture, 145 age-matched controls and 50 fallers without hip fracture). Detailed Cortical Bone Maps (c.5580 measurement points on the unfractured hip) were created before registering each hip to an average femur shape to facilitate statistical parametric mapping (SPM). Areas where cortical and trabecular bone differed from controls were visualised in 3D for location, magnitude and statistical significance. Measures from the novel regions created by the SPM process were then tested for their ability to classify fracture versus control by comparison with traditional CT measures of areal Bone Mineral Density (aBMD). In women we used the surgical classification of fracture location (‘femoral neck’ or ‘trochanteric’) to discover whether focal osteoporosis was specific to fracture type. To explore whether the focal areas were osteoporotic by histological criteria, we used micro CT to measure trabecular bone parameters in targeted biopsies taken from the femoral heads of 14 cases. Results Hip fracture patients had distinct patterns of focal osteoporosis that determined fracture type, and CBM measures classified fracture type better than aBMD parameters. CBM measures however improved only minimally on aBMD for predicting any hip fracture and depended on the inclusion of trabecular bone measures alongside cortical regions. Focal osteoporosis was confirmed on biopsy as reduced sub-cortical trabecular bone volume. Conclusion Using 3D imaging methods and targeted bone biopsy, we discovered focal osteoporosis affecting trabecular and cortical bone of the proximal femur, among men and women with hip fracture.

Recurrent traumatic dislocation of the hip in a child: significance of early hip arthrography.

SummaryThe authors describe a case of a recurrent posterior traumatic dislocation of the hip in a child in whom early arthrography demonstrated a large defect of the posterior capsule. The authors emphasize the necessity of prolonged immobilization and longterm follow-up. The operation of the patient was performed on the 7th day after the third recurrence of the dislocation. Revision and suture of the capsular defect from Gibsons approach were done.ZusammenfassungEs wird über eine rezidivierende hintere traumatische Hüftluxation bei einem Kind berichtet. Eine Arthrographie unmittelbar nach der dritten Reluxation deckte einen großen Defekt in der hinteren Gelenkkapsel auf. Dieser wurde 7 Tage nach der dritten Reluxation von einem hinteren Zugang aus (Gibson) revidiert und verschlossen. Die Autoren betonen die Notwendigkeit einer langen Immobilisation und einer langen Nachbeobachtung.