72 injury: the British Journal of Accident Surgery (1984) Vol. 1 ~/NO. 1

TENDONS AND LIGAMENTS

Tendon ruptures following renal transplant A 40-year-old man suffered successive ruptures of tendons of the heel, hand and shoulder after receiving a renal graft. Renal function was good and the patient was having only small doses of steroid. The explanation for the ruptures is not clear.

Bradlow A., Thompson J. F., Morris P. J. and Watson N. A. (1984) Multiple spontaneous ruptures of tendons in renal transplant recipient. Br. Med. J. 288, 364.

lliotibial band transfer Sixty patients had the iliotibial band transferred beneath the lateral ligament. Function thereafter showed an improvement on the original condition but there was still considerable weakness when compared with the normal knee.

Odensten M., Tegner Y., Lysholm J. and Gillquist J. (1983) Knee function and muscle strength following distal iliotibial band transfer for anterolateral rotatory instability. Acta Orthop. Stand. 54, 924.

MISCELLANEOUS

Patellofemoral disorders Thirty-six patients with subluxation or chondromalacia were operated on and studied, on average, approximately 2+ years later. The instability responded better than chondromalacia and simple plication and lateral release were rarely satisfactory operations.

Strand T., Alho A., Raugstad T. S. and Bjersand A. J. (1983) Patellofemoral disorders treated by operations. Acta Orthop. &and. 54, 914.

Emission tomography Two cases studied showed that conventional scintimetry was less accurate than emission tomography. Using the rotating slant-hole technique, emission tomography showed areas of necrosis at the back of the head, which otherwise escaped detection.

Strijmqvist B., Brismar J. and Hansson L. I. (1983) Emission tomography in femoral neck fracture for evaluation of avas- cular necrosis. Acta Orthop. Stand. 54, 812.

Muscle spasms associated with Sudeck’s atrophy after injury Four patients developed painful limbs with Sudeck’s atrophy following injury. These symptoms and signs were accompanied by abnormal jerks and spasms of the affected limbs and these abnormal movements could last for several years. Two patients achieved relief spontaneously; two others required an opera- tion. The nature of the condition remained uncertain.

Marsden C. D., Obeso J. A., Traub M. M., Rothwell J. C., Kranz H. and La Cruz F. (1984) Muscle spasms associated with Sudeck’s atrophy after injury. Br. Med. J. 288, 173.

Sciatic neuropathies Of 34 cases of proven sciatic neuropathy, 10 resulted from fracture-dislocation of the hip, 10 from external pressure, 6 from operations on the hip and 4 each from direct injury and miscellaneous causes.

Stewart J. D., Angus E. and Gendron D. (1983) Sciatic neuropathies. Br. Med. J. 287, 1108.