Samir Dwidmuthe

Background Total elbow arthroplasty (TEA) provides satisfactory pain relief and restores elbow range of motion and function in patients with end-stage arthritis. Due to advances in implant design and surgical techniques, the indications for surgery have expanded to include various other conditions affecting the elbow. The previous studies and systematic reviews reported satisfactory mid-term and long-term clinical outcomes after TEA with relatively stable complication and revision rates. However, there is lack of information in the literature about the results of TEA in Indian patients. Methods Two reviewers performed a comprehensive literature search using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines in three online databases—Pubmed/MEDLINE, Google scholar and the Cochrane database for clinical trials. Only original studies published in the English literature reporting outcomes of primary TEA in Indian patients were included for analysis. Using pre-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria, articles were screened and the relevant articles identified. Data were extracted with the primary objective to assess pain relief and functional outcome after TEA in Indian patients, and secondary objective to identify indications for surgery, complication rates and incidence of implant removals. Results A total of 212 TEAs (210 patients) from ten articles were included in this systematic review. All the TEAs were done using Baksi’s semi-constrained sloppy-hinged elbow prosthesis. The most common indication of TEA was post-traumatic sequelae (124 elbows, 58.5%), followed by comminuted intra-articular fracture distal humerus (53 elbows, 25%). At a weighted mean follow-up of 7.5 years, 80.7% cases had complete pain relief. The weighted mean flexion, extension restriction, supination and pronation were 122.6°, 20.8°, 57.3°, and 48.6°; respectively. The weighted mean Mayo Elbow Performance Score was 92.1 points with excellent outcome. Overall, a total of 68 complications were reported (32%) and the implants needed to be removed in 14 elbows (6.6%) including two revisions. Conclusions This systematic review found that the functional outcome and pain relief obtained with TEA using Baksi’s sloppy-hinged prosthesis in Indian patients were satisfactory overall. The complication rates and implant removal rates were lower than those reported with other patient populations.

We describe the case of a 20-year-old man who presented with a bony swelling over the medial proximal tibia that caused pain along the pes anserinus tendons, and a history of multiple asymptomatic bony swellings. Wide extraperiosteal resection of the swelling relieved the symptoms with a good outcome within a year. This report describes the pictorial pathoanatomy of a relatively rare association of pes anserinus syndrome caused by osteochondroma in an adult patient. Proximal tibial osteochondromas can also present as pes anserinus syndrome in adult patients with diaphyseal aclasis. Large swellings require wide excision to relieve the stretching pain of pes tendons.

Fractures involving the physes are peculiar to the pediatric age group with growing bones. These injuries, if not managed with due precaution, can lead to complications like physeal arrest and the development of deformity. Such injuries are much more common in the upper limbs as compared to the lower limbs. Physeal injuries involving the small bones of the foot are extremely rare. To date, no case of Salter-Harris type 2 physeal injury involving proximal phalanx of the great toe has been reported in the English literature. We report the first such case of a 10-year-old child who sustained a Salter-Harris type 2 physeal injury of the right great toe proximal phalanx. The fracture was managed conservatively with splintage of the great toe, and the child had good outcome at one year without any adverse sequelae.

Schwannomas are rarely seen in the foot and ankle and mostly arise from the plantar aspect. Dorsal foot schwannomas are not commonly reported. We describe the case of a 25-year-old man who had a painful swelling on the dorsum of his right foot, which resembled a ganglion cyst on clinical examination and ultrasonography findings. Persistent symptoms prompted the need for an excisional biopsy, which revealed a benign schwannoma arising from the medial dorsal cutaneous nerve. Complete and careful excision relieved the symptoms without causing any distal neural deficit. Thus, schwannomas can mimic as a ganglion cyst. Excisional biopsy of such swellings, if symptomatic, helps in confirming the diagnosis, and provides a good functional outcome.

Pediatric distal forearm fractures are very commonly seen in orthopedic and trauma services. The majority of such fractures involve either distal radius alone or concomitant with distal ulna physis. Isolated injuries of the distal ulna physis are exceedingly rare. Moreover, only one case of isolated Salter-Harris type III distal ulnar physeal injury has been reported in English literature. We report the second such case of isolated distal ulnar physeal injury with Salter-Harris type III pattern in a 15-year-old male child. The injury was treated conservatively in a short-arm splint for four weeks with a good outcome. At the last follow-up of one year, there was no physeal abnormality or growth disturbance detected. Such injuries need to be ruled out in all pediatric distal forearm fractures and can be managed conservatively, if undisplaced, with good outcomes. These patients also need regular monitoring till the closure of the physis to look for the development of any ulnar shortening or deformity due to physeal growth arrest.

South Asian J Cancer, Official publication of MedIntel Services Pvt Ltd,India

Synovial chondromatosis is the rare and benign metaplasia of the synovial membrane resulting in the formation of multiple intra-articular cartilaginous loose bodies. Synovial chondromatosis is known by several other names including articular chondrosis and synovial chondrosis. An 18-year-old boy presented with complaints of difficulty in walking with growing deformity with restriction and painful movements of knee joints bilaterally. The patient gives a history of swelling which was initially there about 8 years back and was accompanied by fever. The patient has taken some treatment for the same by local medics but has not been relieved of his symptoms. Patient’s symptoms are insidious in onset and have gradually progressed in its severity. The patient first noticed swelling over knee right side, which was accompanied by a fever followed by progressive deformity. He gave a history of locking in both knee joints. The patient gives no definitive history regarding any definitive treatment taken for his complaints. Curvilinear or rounded calcified lesions within a soft tissue mass in the close vicinity of the joint should always be further investigated for the possibility of primary synovial osteochondromatosis (PSC). The imaging appearance of PSC appears sufficiently unique to allow its differentiation from other causes of intra-articular pathology. Genu valgum following synovial chondromatosis is not yet reported in the literature. Probably increased vascularity and synovitis may be the cause for valgus deformity. This patient is in follow-up for the past 3 years, and no recurrence of loose bodies has been noted. This case is unique in terms of the age of presentation and developmental deformity which is rare in PSC.