René K Marti

Open Reduction and Internal Fixation of Three and Four-Part Fractures of the Proximal Part of the Humerus

Background: Controversy persists concerning the preferred treatment of displaced fractures of the proximal part of the humerus. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the results of open reduction and internal fixation of three and four-part fractures of the proximal part of the humerus and the functional limitations of patients in whom avascular necrosis of the humeral head develops as a complication of this fracture.Methods: We assessed the intermediate and long-term results for sixty patients with a three or four-part fracture of the proximal part of the humerus who had undergone open reduction and internal fixation with cerclage wires or a T-plate. The Constant score and a visual analog score for pain were calculated, and radiographs of the proximal part of the humerus were evaluated.Results: After an average of ten years of follow-up, fifty-two patients (87%) had a good or excellent result on the basis of the Constant score whereas eight patients (13%) had a poor result. Fifty-one patients (85%) were satisfied with the result at the time of the most recent examination. Twenty-two patients (37%) had development of avascular necrosis of the humeral head, and seventeen (77%) of these twenty-two patients had a good or excellent Constant score.Conclusions: Open reduction and internal fixation with cerclage wires or a T-plate yields good functional results in most patients. This option should be considered even for patients with fracture-dislocation patterns that are associated with a high risk for avascular necrosis of the humeral head, as this complication did not preclude a good result.

MEDIAL ANKLE PAIN AFTER LATERAL LIGAMENT RUPTURE

After a severe ankle sprain the incidence of residual complaints, particularly on the medial side of the joint, is high. We studied a consecutive series of 30 patients who had operative repair of acute ruptures of lateral ligaments. During operation, arthroscopy revealed a fresh injury to the articular cartilage in 20 ankles, in 19 at the tip and/or anterior distal part of the medial malleolus as well as on the opposite medial facet of the talus. In six patients, a loose piece of articular cartilage was found. We conclude that in patients with a rupture of one or more of the lateral ankle ligaments after an inversion injury, an impingement occurs between the medial malleolus and the medial facet of the talus. Patients with a lesion of the lateral ankle ligament caused by a high-velocity injury (a faulty landing during jumping or running) had a higher incidence of macroscopic cartilage damage (p < 0.01), medially-located pressure pain (p = 0.06) and medially-located complaints at one-year follow-up (p = 0.02) than those with low-velocity injury (a stumble).

Physical examination is sufficient for the diagnosis of sprained ankles

We studied the merits of physical examination after inversion injury of the ankle in 160 consecutive patients. They had an explanatory operation if they had a positive arthrogram and/or positive signs on a delayed physical examination. To determine the interobserver variation in delayed physical examination, five different examiners were asked to give independent assessment of the injury. Those with limited clinical experience produced more accurate results when physical examination was performed at five days after the injury, rather than within 48 hours. The specificity and sensitivity of delayed physical examination for the presence or absence of a lesion of an ankle ligament were found to be 84% and 96%, respectively. The interobserver agreement for the delayed physical examination of the ankle was good (kappa values 0.5, 0.6, 0.6 and 1.0). Delayed physical examination gives information of diagnostic quality which is equal to that of arthrography, and causes little discomfort to the patient.

Treatment of ruptures of the lateral ankle ligaments: a meta-analysis

Background: Ruptures of the lateral ankle ligaments are very common; however, treatment remains controversial. The aim of the current study was to perform a meta-analysis of randomized, controlled clinical trials of existing treatment strategies for acute ruptures of the lateral ankle ligaments. Methods: Randomized, controlled trials reported between 1966 and 1998 were included if they involved acute ruptures of the lateral ankle ligaments. Randomized, controlled trials are defined as comparative studies with an intervention group and a control group in which the assignment of participants to a group is determined by the formal procedure of randomization. Summary measures of effectiveness were expressed as relative risks with use of random effects modeling. Results: When analyzing the trials, we searched for comparable outcome measures in both short and long-term follow-up studies (studies with six months to 3.8 years of follow-up). This resulted in the analyses of three outcome measures: time lost from work, residual pain, and giving-way. This report summarizes the results of twenty-seven trials. With respect to giving-way, a significant difference was noted between operative treatment and functional treatment (relative risk, 0.23; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.17 to 0.31) in favor of operative treatment and a significant difference was also noted between functional treatment and treatment with a cast for six weeks (relative risk, 0.69; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.50 to 0.94) in favor of functional treatment. With respect to residual pain, no significant difference was found between operative and functional treatment and a significant difference was found between functional treatment and treatment with a cast for six weeks (relative risk, 0.67; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.50 to 0.90). We found minimal or no treatment to result in more residual pain (relative risk, 0.53; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.27 to 1.02) and giving-way (relative risk, 0.34; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.17 to 0.71) than did functional treatment. Conclusions: We concluded that a no-treatment strategy for ruptures of the lateral ankle ligaments leads to more residual symptoms. Operative treatment leads to better results than functional treatment, and functional treatment leads to better results than cast immobilization for six weeks.

Operative treatment of 109 tibial plateau fractures: five- to 27-year follow-up results

Objective: To analyze the long-term (5-27 years) functional and radiologic results of surgically treated fractures of the tibial plateau. Design: Retrospective study. Setting: University hospital. Patients and Methods: Two hundred two consecutive tibial plateau fractures were included in this study. All fractures were classified according to both the AO and the Schatzker classification. There were 112 men and 90 women. The mean age at injury was 46 years (16 to 88). One hundred sixty-three patients had isolated fractures and 39 had multiple fractures. A 1 year follow-up was done in all 202 patients. One hundred nine of these patients also had an additional long-term follow-up visit. Functional results of these 109 patients were graded with the Neer- and HSS-knee scores. Radiologic results were graded with the Ahlbäck score. Statistical analysis was performed by means of the SPSS data analysis program. Results: An uneventful union was present at the 1 year follow-up in 95% of the patients, along with a mean knee ROM of 130 degrees (range, 10-145 degrees). One hundred nine patients had a long-term follow-up visit after a mean period of 14 years (range, 5-27 years). The mean ROM at this time was 135 degrees (range, 0-145 degrees). Functional results showed a mean Neer score of 88.6 points (range, 56-100 points) and a mean HSS score of 84.8 points (range, 19-100 points). Monocondylar fractures showed statistically significant better functional results compared to bicondylar fractures. In 31% of the patients, secondary osteoarthritis had developed but was well tolerated in most (64% of the patients). Patients with a malalignment of more then 5 degrees developed a moderate to severe grade of osteoarthritis statistically significant more often (27% of the patients) compared to patients with an anatomic knee axis (9.2%; MWU, P = 0.02). Age did not appear to have any influence on the results. Conclusion: Long-term results after open reduction and internal fixation for tibial plateau fractures are excellent, independent of the patients age.

Degenerative Joint Disease in Female Ballet Dancers

The relationship between long-term ballet dancing and eventual arthrosis of the hip, ankle, subtalar, and first metatarsophalangeal joint was examined in 19 former professional female dancers, aged 50 to 70 years. The dancers were compared with pair-matched controls. All 38 women underwent medical history taking, clinical ex amination, and roentgenography of the joints studied. The roentgenographs were independently judged by two investigators and grouped according to a modified classification of Hermodsson. We found a statistically significant increase in roentgenologic arthrosis of the ankle, subtalar, and first metatarsophalangeal joints in the ballet group compared with the control group. There was no significant difference regarding degenerative changes of the hip joint. However, subjects in the dance group who had evidence of degenerative changes on roentgenographs had no clinical complaints. There was a statistically significant increase in hallux valgus de formity in the ballet group (P < 0.05). The dancers also showed a statistically significant increase in flexion, ex ternal rotation, and abduction of the hip joint, dorsal flex ion of the first metatarsophalangeal joint, and inversion and eversion of subtalar joint. But the control group had statistically significant increased plantar flexion of the first metatarsophalangeal joint. The most important cause of the statistically significant increase of arthrosis of the ankle and first metatarsophalangeal joints must be explained by repetitive microtrauma.

PHYSICAL EXAMINATION IS SUFFICIENT FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF SPRAINED ANKLES

We studied the merits of physical examination after inversion injury of the ankle in 160 consecutive patients. They had an explanatory operation if they had a positive arthrogram and/or positive signs on a delayed physical examination. To determine the interobserver variation in delayed physical examination, five different examiners were asked to give independent assessment of the injury. Those with limited clinical experience produced more accurate results when physical examination was performed at five days after the injury, rather than within 48 hours. The specificity and sensitivity of delayed physical examination for the presence or absence of a lesion of an ankle ligament were found to be 84% and 96%, respectively. The interobserver agreement for the delayed physical examination of the ankle was good (kappa values 0.5, 0.6, 0.6 and 1.0). Delayed physical examination gives information of diagnostic quality which is equal to that of arthrography, and causes little discomfort to the patient.

Diagnosis of ligament rupture of the ankle joint Physical examination, arthrography, stress radiography and sonography compared in 160 patients after inversion trauma

We prospectively enrolled 160 consecutive patients with inversion trauma of the ankle in a diagnostic protocol that included physical examination within 2 days and at 5 days after trauma, arthrography, stress radiography, and ultrasonography. 135 patients had pathological lateral ligament laxity on the later physical examination or lateral ligament rupture diagnosed on arthrography and they were operated on 122 of these patients had ligament ruptures. At clinical follow-up after a minimum of half a year, all of the patients who were not operated on had stable joints without signs of previous ligament ruptures. Delayed physical examination at 5 days after the injury led to the highest overall sensitivity (96%) and specificity (84%) for the detection of a ligament rupture. Additional diagnostic procedures, at a considerable cost, yielded little additional information.

Proximal tibial varus osteotomy : Indications, technique, and five to twenty-one-year results

Background: Although high tibial osteotomy has been proved effective for the treatment of painful osteoarthritis of the medial compartment of the knee, the role of proximal tibial varus osteotomy for the treatment of painful osteoarthritis of the lateral compartment still remains controversial. Methods: From 1974 to 1993, we performed proximal tibial varus osteotomy for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the lateral compartment of the knee in thirty-six consecutive patients. The procedure consisted of a proximal lateral opening-wedge varus osteotomy of the tibia with use of corticocancellous bone grafts from the iliac crest. The valgus deformity was posttraumatic in twenty-three patients, followed a lateral meniscectomy in five, was due to overcorrection of a varus deformity in four, and was idiopathic in four. The preoperative valgus deformity averaged 11.6° (range, 4° to 22°). Results: At a mean of eleven years (range, five to twenty-one years) after the operation, the clinical results for thirty-four of the thirty-six patients were analyzed. None of the patients had severe progression of the osteoarthritis after the osteotomy, and none had a meaningful loss in the range of motion of the knee joint. A superficial wound infection developed in one patient, and another patient had thrombophlebitis. Three patients (9%) had a transient palsy of the peroneal nerve. According to the system of Insall et al., the mean knee score was 84 points (range, 54 to 99 points). According to the knee score described by Lysholm and Gillquist, the subjective result was excellent in nine patients (26%), good in twenty-one (62%), fair in three (9%), and poor in one (3%). Conclusions: We concluded that when the indications outlined in this study are followed and our opening-wedge technique is used, a proximal lateral opening-wedge varus osteotomy of the tibia is a good alternative for the treatment of isolated osteoarthritis of the lateral compartment of the knee. High accuracy in preoperative planning, based on a slight overcorrection, is important to prevent failure.

Surgical treatment of intra-articular fractures of the distal part of the humerus: Functional outcome after twelve to thirty years

BACKGROUND The short-term results of open reduction and internal fixation of intra-articular distal humeral fractures are good to excellent in approximately 75% of patients, but the long-term results have been less well studied. This investigation addressed the long-term clinical and radiographic results of surgical treatment of intra-articular distal humeral fractures (AO Type C) as assessed with use of standardized outcome measures. METHODS Thirty patients were evaluated at an average of nineteen years (range, twelve to thirty years) after open reduction and internal fixation of a fracture of the distal part of the humerus to assess the range of elbow motion and the functional outcome. Twenty patients had an olecranon osteotomy, and all had fixation with plates and/or screws and/or Kirschner wires. No ulnar nerve was transposed. RESULTS Excluding one elbow salvaged with an arthrodesis and counted as a poor result, the average final flexion arc was 106 degrees and the average pronation-supination arc was 165 degrees. The average American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score was 96 points, with an average satisfaction score of 8.8 points on a 0 to 10-point visual analog scale. The average Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) score was 7 points, and the average Mayo Elbow Performance Index (MEPI) score was 91 points. Including the patient with the arthrodesis, the final categorical ratings were nineteen excellent results, seven good results, one fair result, and three poor results. The presence of arthrosis did not appear to correlate with pain or predict disability or function. Subsequent procedures were performed in twelve patients (40%). CONCLUSIONS The long-term results of open reduction and internal fixation of AO-Type-C fractures of the distal part of the humerus are similar to those reported in the short term, suggesting that the results are durable. Functional ratings and perceived disability were predicated more on pain than on functional impairment and did not correlate with radiographic signs of arthrosis.