Intramuscular abscess causing radial nerve palsy

Radial nerve palsy is one of the commonest upper limb compressive neuropathies encountered in orthopaedic practice. More frequently associated with fractures of the humeri, it can also be the result of other atraumatic causes such as the so-called 'Saturday Night Palsy'. In this article, a case is presented where a palsy of the radial nerve was caused by the expansion of an intramuscular abscess in a patient with chronic renal failure. This is a relatively rare cause of radial nerve palsy that resolved progressively after surgical drainage

Recalcitrant infection following total knee arthroplasty: a report of two cases

Infection following total knee arthroplasty can be devastating. Even with established treatment protocols, eradication of the infection may not be feasible. We report 2 patients who required above-knee amputation to eradicate recalcitrant infection

Malaysian orthopaedic surgeons' approach to venous thromboembolic disease prophylaxis: attitudes and practice

Purpose: To survey Malaysian orthopaedic surgeons’ attitudes to and use of venous thromboembolic disease prophylaxis. Methods: A total of 144 orthopaedic surgeons from various governmental and private institutions responded to a questionnaire. Results: Only slightly more than half of these surgeons considered venous thromboembolic disease as common a problem in Malaysia as in western countries. The majority of surgeons (91.0%) reported using prophylaxis selectively for patients based on various indicators such as risk grading of surgery, obesity, and malignancy etc. Bleeding tendencies were cited as the greatest fear against the use of pharmacological prophylaxis. Low-molecular-weight heparin appeared to be the most commonly used pharmacological prophylaxis, used either singly or in combination with other forms of prophylaxis. The majority of surgeons employed prophylaxis until their patients were mobile. Conclusion: There should be greater awareness among surgeons in Malaysia of the need for protection against venous thromboembolic disease. Current practice needs to be reviewed and further recommendations made for existing protocols

Sciatic nerve entrapment causing posterior knee pain

We report a case of sciatic nerve entrapment resulting in a patient experiencing pain over the posterior aspect of the knee, simulating a Baker’s cysts. Surgical exploration revealed a tight fibrous arch compressing the distal portion of the complete relief of symptoms. This form of presentation is rate and should be considered as a differential diagnosis when a patient presents with complaints of pain in the back of then knee