Bowing fracture of the inferior angle of the scapula, a difficult diagnosis

A 4-year-old boy presented with swelling over the inferior tip of the scapula and an unclear history. Initial radiographic findings were concerning for an aggressive lesion. This case highlights how a multimodality imaging approach was used to relieve uncertainty by diagnosing a paediatric bowing type fracture of the scapular tip

Metastatic breast carcinoma of the coracoid process: two case reports

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The coracoid process of the scapula is a rare site of involvement for metastatic disease or for primary tumors. We are unaware of any reports in the literature of pathologic coracoid process fractures and only one report of metastatic disease to the coracoid.</p> <p>Methods and Results</p> <p>In this case report, we present two cases with metastatic breast carcinoma of the coracoid process, one of which presented with a pathologic fracture of the coracoid.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>An orthopaedic surgeon must be aware of the potential for metastatic disease to the coracoid as they may be the first medical provider to encounter evidence of malignant disease.</p

Are “knife and fork” good enough for day case surgery of resistant tennis elbow?

This observational retrospective study was performed on 22 consecutive patients treated surgically in a day surgery unit for resistant tennis elbow to ascertain the effectiveness of the “knife and fork” procedure. All patients had an unfavourable response to nonsurgical treatment lasting at least six months. A simple and inexpensive “knife and fork” technique yielded excellent results in 90.5% of patients and a high percentage (95.2%) of satisfied patients at an average follow-up of two years. There were no fair or poor results and no complications. We conclude that the “knife and fork” technique is a simple and dependable day case procedure. In the present National Health Service (NHS) era of tariff and “payment by results”, this approach is more cost effective than an arthroscopic alternative

Surgical treatment of undisplaced femoral neck fractures in the elderly

The study was a retrospective evaluation and comparison. Eighty-four elderly patients (> 60 years) with undisplaced intracapsular femoral neck fractures were treated with osteosynthesis with either dynamic hip screws (DHS) or multiple cannulated screws (MCS). The Singh index was used to evaluate bone quality. All patients were followed up retrospectively for at least 12 months. The clinical results were compared between the DHS and MCS groups. Both groups were similar in respect of injury mechanisms, mean Singh index, injury-surgery interval, gender and age (all p values ≥ 0.29). The MCS group had significantly smaller wound incisions, less haemoglobin level drops, lower blood transfusion rates and shorter hospital stays than the DHS group (all p values ≤ 0.008). However, the DHS group had a higher rate of overall success when compared to the MCS group (97.5% versus 84.1%, p=0.04). In conclusion, although DHS fixation requires a larger skin incision and more soft tissue dissection, its use in elderly patients with osteoporosis is recommended due to simple, efficacy and high overall success rate