Leaving half the acetabulum in pelvic resections improves hip function. Is there a need to revisit conventional pelvic resections?

BACKGROUND: Conventional periacetabular pelvic resections are associated with poor functional outcomes. Resections through surgical corridors beyond the conventional margins may be helpful in retaining greater function without compromising the oncological margins. METHODS: The study included a retrospective review of 82 cases of pelvic resections for pelvic tumors. Outcomes of acetabulum preservation (Group A) were compared with complete acetabular resection (Group B). Also, we compared outcomes of Type I + half resections (Group 1) with Type I + II resections (Group 2), and Type III + half resections (Group 3) with Type II + III resections (Group 4). RESULTS: Group A (n = 44) had significantly better functional outcome than Group B (n = 38) with average MSTS93 score 22.3 versus 20.1 and average HHS 91.3 versus 82.5 (p < 0.001). Group 1 (n = 14) and Group 2 (n = 12) had similar functional outcomes (mean MSTS93 score 22.07 vs. 21.58 [p = 0.597] and mean HHS 90.37 vs. 86.51 [p = 0.205]). Group 3 (n = 11) had significantly better functional outcome than Group 4 (n = 17), with mean MSTS93 score 22.8 versus 19.7 (p < 0.001) and mean HHS 92.3 versus 80.1 (p < 0.001). Oncological outcomes were similar among the groups. CONCLUSION: Transacetabular pelvic resections provide functional benefit over conventional resections without compromising oncological margins. There is a need to revisit and revise the pelvic resection planes.

Surgical phocomelia or phoco-reduction as a method of limb salvage for sarcomas of the upper limb: A suitable alternative to amputation.

BACKGROUND: Reconstruction following resection of sarcomas of the upper extremity with methods described in the prevalent literature may not be possible in few selected cases. We describe surgical phocomelia or phoco-reduction as a method of limb salvage in such cases of extensive sarcomas of the upper limb with its functional and oncological outcomes. METHODS: Evaluation of functional and oncological outcomes was performed for 11 patients who underwent surgical phocomelia or phoco-reduction for extensive sarcomas of the upper limb between 2010 and 2019. RESULTS: The mean follow-up period in the study was 27.8 months. Five patients required a segmental resection including the entire humerus while six patients underwent segmental resection around the elbow with a mean resection length of 21.5 cm. Mean Musculoskeletal Tumor Society 93 score was 22 depicting a good functional outcome. Mean handgrip strength on the operated side was 62% of the contralateral side with preservation of useful hand function. Meantime to humeroulnar union was 6.7 months. Radial nerve palsy and implant failure occurred in one patient each. No patient developed local recurrence while three patients died of metastasis. CONCLUSION: Surgical phocomelia is a prudent alternative to severely incapacitating amputations in situations where other reconstruction methods are not feasible.

A case report of Kaposiform haemangioendothelioma; response with propranolol and steroids.

BACKGROUND: Kaposiform haemangioendothelioma is a rare vascular tumor and may involve skin, deep soft tissue or bone. It is a locally aggressive tumor usually seen in infants. Here we report a case of kaposiform hemagioendothelioma in a child who responded to propranolol and steroids. CASE PRESENTATION: A 3-year-old male child presented with a swelling below his right knee with characteristic violet skin lesion. There was no evidence of Kasabach-Merritt phenomenon. After no improvement with several attempts at debridement and anti-tubercular treatment; a diagnosis of Kaposiform Haemangioendothelioma was reached on the basis of overall clinical picture and histology. The child was treated with propranolol and steroids and had an excellent clinical response and a near complete resolution on imaging at 5 months. CONCLUSIONS: These cases are often misdiagnosed and despite a delay in diagnosis have good outcomes with appropriate multimodality management. This case highlights the unique and typical characteristics of kaposiform haemangioendothelioma.

Solid variant ABC of long tubular bones: A diagnostic conundrum for the radiologist.

Solid variant of aneurysmal bone cyst (sABC) is an extremely rare, reactive and non-neoplastic osseous lesion. On imaging it presents as a diaphyseal aggressive, eccentrically placed lytic and expansile lesion. However, differentiating this entity from the other possible malignant differentials is confounded by the histopathology mimicking several commoner lesions. We describe the distinctive MRI features of sABC of long bones from a series of four cases and briefly review the literature. We hope this review will educate all radiologists about this rare entity increasing their diagnostic confidence while formulating differentials for similar appearing lesions.

An Unusual Presentation of Pubic-type Anterior Hip Dislocation with Concomitant Anterior and Posterior Acetabular Wall Fracture.

Anterior hip dislocation is uncommon, comprising only 5%-15% of hip dislocations. It usually occurs following a severe external rotation and abduction injury. These injuries are occasionally associated with acetabular fractures, which generally occur in the direction of dislocation. We describe a rare case of pubic-type anterior hip dislocation with concomitant anterior and posterior acetabular wall fractures in a young male following a road traffic accident. The dislocation could not be reduced by closed means and open reduction had to be performed. Reduction of the hip allowed the wall fragments to fall back to their place and the hip remained stable. At the one-year follow-up, the clinical and radiological results were excellent. This case also emphasizes the importance of early diagnosis and prompt reduction in the successful management of these types of injury.

Factors affecting compliance to hospital visit among clubfoot patients: A cross-sectional study from a tertiary referral clubfoot clinic in the developing country.

PURPOSE: Ensuring compliance to treatment protocol, especially regular visit to treating facility, is an important aspect of clubfoot management. However, the factors affecting compliance to follow-up schedule are myriad. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was undertaken among caregivers of clubfoot patients from a tertiary referral clubfoot clinic in a developing country. Hospital records were reviewed to collect demographic data and subjects were classified as either "regular" or "irregular" if they missed ≤3 and >3 scheduled hospital visits, respectively. Various factors that could affect compliance such as family size, number of children, literacy of caregiver, occupation of breadwinner, and time taken to travel to hospital were studied. Caregivers were probed regarding the reason for their irregularity. RESULTS: A total of 238 patients were included, of which 138 formed the "regular" group and the rest 100 formed the "irregular" group. Patients in the regular group were significantly younger (mean age 43.8 months) compared to the irregular group (59.8 months; p = 0.001). The mean follow-up period in the regular group was 28.1 months and in the irregular group was 33.8 months. On univariate analysis, age, duration of follow-up, and transport duration were found to be significant between the two groups. However, multivariate analysis revealed that female children with clubfoot are more likely to be irregular as compared to males ( p = 0.038). CONCLUSION: In a developing country setting, higher age and being a female child are associated with irregularity to hospital visit protocol. At clubfoot clinics, identifying these children and counseling their caregivers might improve compliance.

Factors associated with local recurrence in operated osteosarcomas: A retrospective evaluation of 95 cases from a tertiary care center in a resource challenged environment.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Local control of disease is one of the main goals of osteosarcoma management. We conducted a retrospective evaluation of 95 operated cases of osteosarcoma over 7 years to know about the factors associated with local recurrence in resource-challenged environment of the developing world. METHODS: The factors which were evaluated and compared between local recurrence and non-local recurrence groups included demographic profile, site of tumor, whether biopsy done outside, type of surgery (limb salvage or amputation), presence of pathological fracture, vicinity of neurovascular bundle, tumor volume, histological subtype, chemotherapy induced necrosis, surgical margins, and delay in surgery. The time to local recurrence after surgery was also noted in the local recurrence group. RESULTS: At a mean follow-up of 2.8 years, biopsy done from outside the treating center and delay in surgery after completion of neo-adjuvant chemotherapy emerged as significant risk factors for local recurrence. Most of the local recurrences (80%) occurred within 12 months of the primary surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Lack of financial resources and availability of few tertiary care centers dealing with musculoskeletal oncology in the developing countries, lead to overburden with a long waiting list for tumor surgery making the scenario different from the Western world.

Evaluation of online health information on clubfoot using the DISCERN tool.

The Internet has become a major source of health information on various aspects of clubfoot diagnosis and management. The World Wide Web becomes the first knowledge portal for a large number of anxious parents seeking information on clubfoot. Thus, a good quality webpage should provide necessary and comprehensive information on clubfoot so as to establish clarity in treatment options, compliance and bracing protocols. In contrast, modest quality information can induce bias and poor follow-up. We objectively evaluated online health information on clubfoot using the DISCERN tool. Using the universal search engine, Google, we conducted a Boolean search for the term 'clubfoot'. Only the first 50 sites providing health information on clubfoot were included in the study. We examined 334 links to include 50 of them. During analysis three websites were excluded because of duplication of content leaving 47 websites that were examined using the DISCERN tool. As per this tool, a score of less than 40% was graded as 'poor', 40-79% as 'fair' and at least 80% as 'good', whereas the overall quality was graded as 'low', 'moderate' and 'high' on similar standards. The overall quality of the publication was 'low' in 40% (19) websites, 'moderate' in 28% (13) and 'high' in 32% (15) of the websites we evaluated. Six (13%) of the publications showed good reliability; 25 (54%) showed fair reliability and 16 (33%) were unreliable. With regard to the quality of information on treatment choices, 44.7% (21) were 'good', 46.8% (22) were 'fair' and 8.5% (four) were 'poor'. We conclude that the quality of websites providing online health information on clubfoot needs significant improvement with emphasis on a universally acceptable template for disease information.