Search

This prospective study used pulsed color-flow Doppler sonography to determine differences in the presence and direction of flow through the dorsalis pedis, posterior tibial, and peroneal arteries in a group of children with clubfoot and a comparison group of controls. There was a statistically significant difference in the prevalence of deficient (absent or retrograde flow) dorsalis pedis arteries in children with clubfoot (45%) compared with controls (8%). This indicates that there is an association between some clubfeet and deficiency of the dorsalis pedis artery. There was a trend toward difference in the prevalence of deficiency of the dorsalis pedis artery in the clubfeet that required surgery (54%) compared with those that did not (20%), suggesting that dorsalis pedis artery deficiency may be more prevalent among clubfeet with greater deformity.

At birth, a patient presented with a right lower limb featuring preaxial polydactyly and fibular dimelia with a complete absence of the tibia. Radiographic studies of the patient's foot revealed a duplicated tarsus with eight metatarsals and toes. The three preaxial toes were surgically removed at 1 year of age. A hallux and four normal-appearing postaxial toes remained. The foot was amputated when the patient was 3 years old. Dissection of the amputated foot revealed that the muscles of the dorsum were normal, except that the tendon of the extensor hallucis brevis muscle inserted into both the hallux and toe 2, rather than only into the hallux. The few abnormalities observed among the muscles on the plantar surface of the foot included absence of the insertions of the tibialis posterior and the abductor hallucis muscles. In addition, the two heads of the adductor hallucis muscle inserted abnormally into the medial (tibial) side of metatarsal 1, rather than into the lateral side. These various muscular anomalies, in addition to the mirror duplication of the foot with the presence of only a single metatarsal 1, leads us to propose that this metatarsal probably represents two lateral (fibular) halves that form a laterally duplicated bone. Although the dorsalis pedis artery was present on the dorsal surface of the foot, most of its derivatives were absent. This artery did give rise to a supernumerary medial branch that ended abruptly in the connective tissue (presumably postsurgical scar) at the medial border of the foot. This branch may have represented a duplicated dorsalis pedis artery associated with the duplicated preaxial portion of the foot. The arteries on the plantar surface of the foot were normal. Even though some anomalies in the pattern of the cutaneous innervation were observed, the nerves of the foot were largely normal. The gross and radiographic anatomy of this specimen and the radiographic anatomy of the leg suggest that some teratogenic event occurred when developmental specification reached the level of the future knee. The teratogenic event, which probably occurred early in the fifth week of development, may have caused damage that led to a lateral duplication of both the leg and the foot with the absence of some of the most medial structures. Teratology 60:272–282, 1999. © 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The effect of grip on ulnar variance was evaluated in 66 symptom-free wrists of 53 volunteers. Zero-rotation posteroanterior x-ray films were taken of each wrist before and after exertion of a grip force measured with a Jamar dynamometer. The volunteers were randomly divided into two groups. Group I subjects (35 wrists) were asked to exert a constant grip force of 11.3 kg. Group II subjects (31 wrists) were asked to exert a maximum grip effort, which resulted in a mean grip force of 30 kg (range, 22.8 kg to 53.6 kg). Group I demonstrated a mean increase in ulnar variance of 1.27 mm and group II showed a mean increase of 1.95 mm. The minimum increase in ulnar variance observed was 0.25 mm. The changes observed were statistically significant. The results confirm that a relative increase in ulnar variance occurs with grip. There may be an etiologic role for daily activities that involve repetitive grip and forearm rotation in development of the ulnar impaction syndrome.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the plain film finding of dysplasia of the lesser tubercle of the humerus and its relationship to medial dislocation of the tendon of the long head of the biceps brachii muscle as diagnosed by shoulder arthrography. Of 55 patients referred for arthrography of the shoulder because of undiagnosed shoulder pain, 12 demonstrated flattening of the medial wall of the bicipital tendon groove. Of these, 58% had medial dislocation of the biceps tendon, and 43% of patients with dislocation of the biceps tendon were also shown to have a tear of the rotator cuff. Since biceps tendon pathology has long been implicated in shoulder pain and weakness, assessment of the bicipital groove may provide important information in evaluating patients with potential abnormality of the biceps tendon.

Infarction of skeletal muscle in patients who have diabetes is an infrequently recognized clinicopathological entity1-17. Most of the reports on this condition have appeared in journals and textbooks on internal medicine and radiology. Radiographically, the lesion may be misinterpreted as a soft-tissue sarcoma or infection, in which case the patient may be referred to an orthopaedic surgeon. The mean age of the four patients reported on here was forty-two years (range, twenty-eight to fifty-nine years). The patients had sought medical attention because of an exquisitely tender swelling of the anterior aspect of the thigh, which had been present for ten days to four weeks before the initial evaluation. Two patients had a history of insulin-dependent diabetes, one had a history of non-insulin-dependent diabetes, and one was diagnosed with diabetes at the time of the initial evaluation. Three patients had no evidence of recurrence after a mean duration of follow-up of thirty-one months (range, twenty-four to forty-two months). The fourth patient had recurrence of the muscular necrosis and died six months later as a result of diabetic complications. CASE 1. A fifty-nine-year-old white man who had insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus was seen because of a three-week history of swelling of the distal two-thirds of the right thigh. The swelling had decreased during the week before the evaluation, leaving an exquisitely tender palpable mass. The patient had a twelve-year history of diabetes mellitus and had used thirty-five units of neutral protamine Hagedorn insulin each day for ten years. He had diabetic retinopathy and neuropathy but no evidence of nephropathy. He also had hypertension and coronary artery disease. Physical examination revealed an extremely tender mass, eight by five centimeters, in the anteromedial aspect of the distal part of the right thigh. Mild swelling was observed in the region of the …

Magnetic resonance lmaging of seven fresh human cadaveric specimens was used to evaluate the integrity of the triangular fibrocartilage complex of the wrist. A variety of imaging parameters were systematically investigated, including T 1 -weighted images with and without contrast, long repetition times, short echo time images, and T 2 -weighted sequences. A variety of imaging planes were also evaluated. Wrist arthrography, dissection, and frozen coronal sections were done to substantiate our interpretations of the magnetic resonance images. T 2 -weighted images in the coronal plane proved to be of the greatest diagnostic value because the synovial fluid of the joint spaces serves as an excellent endogenous contrast agent. Long repetition time, short echo time sequences could be simultaneously obtained with T 2 -weighted sequences with the use of a multiecho pulse sequence to provide an excellent diagnostic package in the future. On the basis of our investigation, the triangular fibrocartilage complex can be consistently and accurately evaluated with magnetic resonance imaging. As magnetic resonance imaging technology improves, wrist probes and suitable magnets should become available that will make the evaluation of triangular fibrocartilage complex abnormalities with magnetic resonance imaging clinically useful.

Investigations of vertebrate limb development have suggested that a process called "specification" instructs the cells of the future limb as to which tissues they should form. This process proceeds in a wave-like manner, starting at the most proximal levels of the future limb and ending at its distal tip. Human limb specification probably occurs during the fourth and fifth weeks of development. It is proposed that human limb duplications result from errors of specification and, furthermore, that the more distal the duplication, the later the occurrence of the teratogenic event during the specification process. Therefore, among human lower limbs with duplications, one may be able to estimate the relative time of the teratogenic event by comparing the levels at which the duplications occur.

The diagnosis of an isolated subluxation or dislocation of the distal radioulnar joint (DRUJ) may be extremely difficult to make from the standard radiographic examination. Radiographs and computerized tomographic (CT) scans of cadaver wrists were used to evaluate subluxation and dislocation of the DRUJ. Both subluxation and and dislocation could be accurately diagnosed from a true lateral radiographic projection of the wrist with the forearm in neutral rotation. Minimal supination or pronation of the forearm led to inaccurate diagnosis. A single CT scan through the DRUJ was diagnostic for subluxation and dislocation in all positions of forearm rotation. Wrist pain, plaster immobilization, or suboptimal wrist positioning may make it impossible to obtain a perfect lateral view of the wrist, thereby precluding the radiographic diagnosis of DRUJ subluxation and dislocation. In this instance, a single CT scan through the DRUJ is recommended.

Eighty-four wrist arthrograms were performed on 76 patients with posttraumatic wrist pain. Instillation of a small amount of contrast media into the radiocarpal joint under fluoroscopic control was helpful in delineating specific areas of pathology about the wrist. Comparison of the arthrographic findings with the plane films of 74 patients and the operative findings of 24 patients revealed that the arthrogram was most helpful in delineating perforations of the scapholunate ligament, the lunotriquetral ligament, the triangular fibrocartilage complex, and the wrist joint capsule.

We have carried out the third in a series of anatomical dissections of amputated congenitally deformed human limbs in an attempt to determine the etiological relationship between the bony and soft tissue anomalies. This specimen consisted of a limb with congenital tibial aplasia and an adducted foot with five toes. The arterial and nerve patterns were reminiscent of those seen previously by us. The arteries were characterized by absence of the anterior tibial artery and an incomplete plantar arch. The superficial peroneal nerve terminated at the ankle. Extra branches from the sural, deep peroneal, and medial plantar nerves supplied branches to the dorsum of the foot. There were two extra muscles in the leg. The remaining muscles were normal, with the exception that most muscles normally inserting on the plantar surface of the foot inserted instead into a common tendon sheet. The tibia was replaced by a tendinous band, and the talus and calcaneus were united by a complete synchondrosis. The contralateral limb clinically appeared to have a clubfoot. The combination of an absent anterior tibial artery and an incomplete plantar arch is consistent with our theory that a reduced number of vessels puts the embryonic limb at increased risk of congenital defects due to the reduction in the number of collateral blood routes. Some event, such as extravasation of blood or embolization, may concurrently or subsequently compromise blood flow in the remaining vessels. We have previously observed abnormal arterial patterns similar to that described above in limbs having absence of the tibia and in other patients having clubfeet. The presence of abnormal arterial patterns in a limb with absence of the tibia and a contralateral limb with clubfoot suggests that absent tibia and clubfoot may be etiologically related.

Excision of mammographically demonstrated breast lesions that are clinically occult remains a surgical challenge. Eighteen lesions were preoperatively localized (all but 1 with the Frank hooked wire technique). Eleven lesions were evaluated with specimen radiography. Three lesions proved to be malignant at biopsy and 15 were benign. We found hooked wire needle placement to be extremely accurate, enabling rapid excision of the suspicious mass with excision of rather small areas of the breast with no significant cosmetic defect. Mean anesthetic time for breast biopsy alone was slightly less than time for biopsy with needle localization, which was less than that when specimen radiography was employed. In the absence of a discrete lesion, specimen radiography is a useful adjunct. Needle localization is simple, accurate, rapid, and requires no special apparatus. Its widespread use should lead to the identification of more breast carcinomas in a potentially curable state.

Two cases of acute hematogenous osteomyelitis of the rib are presented. In one case the etiologic agent was Staphylococcus aureus coagulase-positive and in the other it was Bacteroides corrodens. Although an uncommon disease, hematogenous osteomyelitis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of destructive lesions of the rib. Anaerobic and aerobic cultures should be obtained for bacteriologic analysis.

An unusual vertical fracture through the superior articular process of L5 is described in a professional skier. This fracture, not associated with a pars interarticularis defect, is felt to be stress related. Standard oblique radiographs failed to demonstrate the defect but it was seen clearly on steep oblique views. The fracture was the casue of chronic backache to the patient. Followup radiographs after 14 months demonstrated a nonunion of the fracture.

We performed preoperative arteriography and postamputation dissection on a human limb having complete tibial aplasia and preaxial polydactyly. The tibia was replaced by a tendinous band with an attached connective tissue mass. In the leg, the muscles were normal. Muscles usually arising from the tibia arose from the tendinous band, Intrinsic muscles of the foot were absent where skeletal elements were absent and there were supernumerary muscles where there were supernumerary skeletal elements. The tendinous insertions of the muscles that originated in the leg followed the skeletal pattern of the foot. The nerves were normally distributed with the exception that extra branches innervated the supernumerary toes. Both the anterior tibial and peroneal arteries were smaller than normal and progressively reduced in size as they coursed distally and could not be identified below the ankle. The dorsalis pedis artery was absent. The other arteries of the leg and foot were normal with the exception of extra branches supplying the supernumerary toes. The anatomy indicates that the foot is probably a double posterior duplication. Such a defect implies abnormal specification of the foot pattern due to a prespecification event. The tibial remnant with normal leg soft tissues indicates normal specification of the leg pattern and subsequent interruption of tibial morphogenesis due to a postspecification event. The presence of these different types of malformations in the same limb may seem to be contradictory. We suggest, however, that a single teratogenic event occurring at one moment in time could cause combined pre- and postspecification malformations. We further suggest that a diminished anterior tibial artery reduced the number of vessels available for collateral circulation and thus put the limb at risk for subsequent malformation.

An erosive lesion of the hamate hook in a patient with symptoms of arterial insufficiency was the result of a pseudoaneurysmal formation of the ulnar artery proximal to an obstruction by cicatrical bands.

A case of chronic erosion of the soft tissues and bone of the proximal phalanx of the ring finger in a 62-year-old woman is presented. The patient's rings had eroded the skin, nerves, and tendons of the finger as well as the palmar aspect of the proximal phalanx; however, circulation was adequate. When the rings were removed, there was no improvement in sensibility or range of motion, but this was not bothersome to the patient.