[Tumour-like lesion of the forefoot due to a retained toothpick fragment. Case report]. / Tumoru podobná afekce prednozí na podklade retence dreveného párátka. Kazuistika.

The case of a 17-year-old patient with a pseudotumour of the forefoot caused by a retained toothpick fragment is reported. The patient had several examinations in a two-year period and was treated for synovialitis of the first and third metatarsophalangeal joints. However, radiography of the plantar surface was the only examination done during these two years. Therapy was unsuccessful. After admission to our department, ultrasonography was performed and a foreign body in granulation tissue was detected. Computed tomography and MRI confirmed the finding. The foreign body granuloma was removed by surgery and the patient healed successfully. Options for visualising wooden foreign bodies not detected on X-ray images are discussed. Key words:pseudotumour, forefoot, toothpick, retained.

A new technique for reconstruction of the proximal humerus after three- and four-part fractures.

The results of proximal humeral replacement following trauma are substantially worse than for osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis. The stable reattachment of the lesser and greater tuberosity fragments to the rotator cuff and the restoration of shoulder biomechanics are difficult. In 1992 we developed a prosthesis designed to improve fixation of the tuberosity fragments in comminuted fractures of the proximal humerus. The implant enables fixation of the fragments to the shaft of the prosthesis and the diaphyseal fragment using screws, washers and a special toothed plate. Between 1992 and 2003 we used this technique in 50 of 76 patients referred to our institution for shoulder reconstruction after trauma. In the remaining 26, reconstruction with a prosthesis and nonabsorbable sutures was performed, as the tuberosity fragments were too small and too severely damaged to allow the use of screws and the toothed plate. The Constant score two years post-operatively was a mean of 12 points better in the acute trauma group and 11 points better in the late post-traumatic group than in the classical suture group. We recommend this technique in patients where the tuberosity fragments are large enough to allow fixation with screws, washers and a toothed plate.