The diaphyseal tibia fracture is best treated with intramedullary nail but in some cases where the nail is not applicable, plate fixation will be the next option of fixation. The extensile anterior approach is normally used for conventional compression plate fixation in tibia shaft fractures. The extensive surgical dissection may devitalizes the bony fragments and interfere with the fracture union as well as soft tissue healing. Minimally Invasive Plate Osteosynthesis (MIPO) provides good preservation of blood supply and fracture hematoma at the fracture site thus promotes biological bone healing. The use of indirect reduction techniques and small skin incisions to introduce the plate is technically demanding and requires fluoroscopy exposures throughout the surgery, being some of its drawbacks. We recommend MIPO for conventional compression plate fixation in tibial shaft fractures in view of the reduced surgical trauma to the surrounding soft tissue and good functional outcome.
Surgical Fixation Devices ; Tibial Fractures

Good knowledge and practice regarding diabetic foot care will reduce the risk of diabetic foot complications and ultimately amputation. This study is conducted to assess patients’ knowledge and compliance of diabetic foot care. A cross sectional study performed on patients who were admitted to HSNZ from the 1st September 2013 to 30th April 2014 for diabetic foot infections. They were interviewed with a questionnaire of 15 ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions on foot care knowledge and practice. Score of 1 was given for each ‘yes’ answer. The level of knowledge and practice, whether good or poor, was determined based on the median score of each category. The result was tested using a chi-square test in SPSS version 17. A total of 157 patients were included in this study with a mean age of 56.33 years (31-77). There were 72 male (45.9%) and 85 female (54.1%) patients with the majority of them being Malays (154 patients, 98.1%). Majority of the patients (58%) had poor foot care knowledge while 97 patients (61.8%) had poor diabetic foot care practice as compared to the median score. Based on the chi square test of relatedness, there was no significant association between knowledge and practice with any of the variables. In conclusion, the majority of patients admitted for diabetic foot infections had poor knowledge and practice of diabetic foot care. Education regarding foot care strategies should be emphasized and empowered within the diabetic population.
Diabetic Foot

Background: Coaptive film (i.e., Steri-StripsTM) is an adhesive tape used to replace sutures in wound closure. The use of coaptive film for wound closure after long bone fracture fixation has not been well documented in the literature. Methods: The aim of this prospective, randomized controlled trial comparing coaptive film with sutures for wound closure after long bone fracture fixation was skin closure time, incidence of wound complications and scar width at 12 week follow-up. Forty-five patients underwent femur fracture fixation (22 patients’ wound closed with sutures, 23 with coaptive film). Results: The mean time for skin closure using coaptive film was 171.13 seconds compared to 437.27 seconds using suture. The mean wound lengths in the coaptive film group and suture group were 187.65 mm and 196.73 mm, respectively. One patient in each group had wound complications. Conclusion: Coaptive film is a time-saving procedure for skin closure following long bone fracture fixation. There is no difference in the incidence of wound complications and scar width between these two methods of skin closure.

Tardy ulnar nerve palsy is a known complication of cubitus valgus. The options for treating the ulnar neuropathy include anterior nerve transposition or neurolysis. We report on an 11-year-old boy who had a tardy ulnar nerve palsy due to cubitus valgus resulting from a non-union of a lateral condyle fracture of the humerus. Anterior transposition of the ulnar nerve was not done after the closing wedge osteotomy of the distal humerus. The close wedge osteotomy relieved the tension on the nerve and not transposing the ulnar nerve anteriorly prevented an iatrogenic nerve injury. The patient had no restriction with activities of daily living at the six years follow-up although neurological recovery was incomplete.

Pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS) is a benign but rare proliferative disorder of the synovium. It commonly occurs in the adult population and usually presents as a monoarticular disease. There are two types of PVNS, namely the localised and diffused type. The disease is often misdiagnosed due to its rarity especially in paediatric patients. Knee involvement in PVNS is the commonest form in children although other joints such as hip, foot, ankle, hip, sacroiliac joint and concurrent multiple joint involvements have also been reported. PVNS in paediatric patients is often misdiagnosed as septic arthritis, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and bone sarcoma, and the diagnosis is usually often made late due to its vague presentation. The majority of PVNS cases are managed by surgery either via open or arthroscopic synovectomy except in a few paediatric patients as described in the literature. This case report of PVNS is of a knee in 11- year-old boy who was initially treated as septic arthritis. The synovium appearance mimicked the features of PVNS during a knee arthrotomy washout, and histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis. The knee symptoms had significantly improved without additional surgery, and good functional knee motion was achieved, with no sign of recurrence, after two years of follow-up.