Background: This study was conducted to find out the age when tibiofemoral angle starts to be in valgus and reaches maximum angle. The differences of the angles between genders were also studied. Methodology: This cross sectional study on tibiofemoral angle was conducted among 160 normal healthy children using clinical measurement method. The children between 2 18 months to 6 years old were assigned to 5 specific age groups of 32 children with equal sex distribution. Result: This study had shown a good inter-observer reliability of tibiofemoral angle measurement with intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.87 with narrow margin of 95% confident interval (95% CI: 0.73, 0.94). The mean tibiofemoral angle for children at 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 and 6 years old were 2.25o (SD=0.53), 8.73o (SD=0.95), 7.53o (SD=1.40), 7.27o (SD=1.14) and 6.72o (SD=0.98) respectively. The age when they achieved maximum valgus tibiofemoral angle was 3 years old. The maximum mean (SD) tibiofemoral angle for boys, girls and all children were 8.91o (SD=1.17) , 8.56o (SD=0.62) and 8.73o (SD=0.95) respectively. The mean tibiofemoral angle showed no statistically significant difference between girls and boys except for the 5-year-old group, in which the mean TF angle for girls was 7.560 (SD=0.95) and for the boys was 6.970 (SD=1.26) with p-value of 0.037. Conclusion: Measurement of tibiofemoral angle using the clinical method had a very good inter-observer reliability. The tibiofemoral angle in Malay population was valgus since the age of 2 years with maximum angle of 8.730 (SD=0.95) achieved at the age of 3 years.

Percutaneous pinning after closed reduction is commonly used to treat supracondylar fractures of the humerus in children. Minor pin tract infections frequently occur. The aim of this study was to prevent pin tract infections using a rubber stopper to reduce irritation of the skin against the Kirschner (K) wire following percutaneous pinning. Between July 2011 and June 2012, seventeen children with closed supracondylar fracture of the humerus of Gartland types 2 and 3 were treated with this technique. All patients were treated with closed reduction and percutaneous pinning and followed up prospectively. Only one patient, who was a hyperactive child, developed pin tract infection due to softening of the plaster slab. We found using the rubber stopper to be a simple and inexpensive method to reduce pin tract infections following percutaneous pinning.
Bone Wires

Vitamin D has been the focus of much scientific literature in recent years owing to various studies showing its association with a wide variety of pathological conditions 1,2 . Sun exposure, diet and fortified supplementation account for a bulk of Vitamin D intake in humans. Activation of vitamin D is sequential and requires sun exposure for conversion of 7- dehydrocholesterol to Vitamin D3. Further metabolism in the liver converts Vitamin D3 to 25 –hydroxyvitamin D3. Conversion to its active form 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D3 (Calcitriol) occurs in the kidneys 2 . The importance of Vitamin D in calcium metabolism and bone health is well known and documented. Controversies exist regarding the true prevalence of hypovitaminosis, however in developing countries the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in all age groups is probably higher 3 . Adding to this the burden and morbidity of skeletal trauma, persistent deficiency may have a deleterious effect in the injured 4, 5 . Vitamin D, with its positive effect on bone health does play a role in the biology of fracture repair and remodelling 6 . The role of Vitamin D replacement as sole biological effectors in fracture repair may be difficult to quantify and confounded by other variables at play in bone healing. Studies looking at vitamin D levels in orthopaedic patients have also shown significant levels of deficiency and have put forward recommendations for evaluation and supplementation
Vitamin D Deficiency

The optimal treatment for thoracolumbar fractures (TLF) without neurological deficit remains controversial. Majority of the systematic reviews and meta-analyses have evaluated open operative approaches but have yet to compare the outcomes of minimally invasive percutaneous pedicle fixation (MIPPF) versus non-operative treatment. A retrospective cohort study was performed to compare clinical and radiological outcomes between MIPPF and conservative groups for TLF AO Type A1 to Type B2 during a 2-year follow-up period. Pre-operative plain and CT films were evaluated and decision made for short segment (non-fusion) MIPPF. Patients who refused operation were treated conservatively with three months of body cast, brace, or corset. MIPPF group showed earlier Visual Analog Score (VAS) improvement at six months post-injury (0 vs 6.0- p< 0.001), as well as better functional and radiological outcomes (p<0.050) at final follow-up. Progressions of regional kyphosis (RK) were noted in both groups but there was no significant difference within and between them (p>0.050). MIPPF as a method of internal bracing can be pursued in the treatment of TLF, with larger future cohorts and RCTs being called for to support and explore new findings.

Precise anatomical assessment of femoral neck anteversion (FNA) and the neck shaft angles (NSA) would be essential in diagnosing the pathological conditions involving hip joint and its ligaments. The present study was undertaken on 48 fetal femurs to calculate the NSA and FNA in fetuses digitally. End on images of upper end of the femurs were taken for the estimation of FNA and a photograph in a perpendicular plane was taken to calculate the NSA. Microsoft Paint software was used to mark the points and Image J software was used to calculate the angles digitally. The FNA ranged from 17.08º to 33.97 º on right and 17.32 º to 45.08 º on left. The NSA ranged from 139.33 º to 124.91 º on right and 143.98 º to 123.8 º on left. Unpaired t test showed the FNA and NSA of femur did not vary significantly during the third trimester.
Bone Development ; Femur

Objectives: Traditionally, scoliosis surgery is aimed at attaining a fused, balanced and painless spine. With improvement in surgical and instrumentation techniques, spine surgeons strive to achieve higher degree of Cobb’s angle and rib hump correction with the idea of greater patient satisfaction. The aim of this study was to determine the patients’ satisfaction using SRS-22 questionnaire and their correlations with the radiographic changes. Materials and methods: A prospective study was conducted in a tertiary referral centre using the Scoliosis Research Society-22 (SRS-22) questionnaire during the patients’ annual follow up, between February to April 2014. Thirtyseven patients who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled. Results: The mean pre-operative Cobb’s angles were 57.8o ± 12.7o and mean post-operative angle of 20.0o ± 10.4o, resulting in average correction of 65.9 ± 14.4%. Mean preoperative rib hump was 61.1 ± 15.4 mm with mean postoperative rib hump of 15.8 ± 17.8 mm, resulting in average reduction of 77.7 ± 23.7%. Mean of post-operative total SRS score was 4.1 ± 0.5. Using Spearman rank correlation, the percentage of Cobb’s angle correction versus the SRS-22 score showed correlation of 0.17 (P=0.33) while the percentage of rib hump reduction versus SRS-22 score showed a correlation of 0.11 (P=0.53). Conclusion: In this study, the average total SRS-22 score was 4.1 ± 0.5 (range, 3.1-4.9) post-operatively indicating very high satisfaction rate overall. Despite attempts at greater curve correction and rib hump reduction, there is no direct correlation between patient satisfaction and radiographic parameters.
Scoliosis ; Spinal Diseases

Introduction: Calcaneal fractures are caused by high energy trauma and mostly are intra-articular fractures. Nondisplaced intra-articular calcaneal fracture (IACF) can be treated non-operatively. However, displaced intra-articular need to be reduced and fixed anatomically to facilitate early ankle rehabilitation and minimize functional impairment. This study was done to find out the outcome of the IACF patients who underwent operative treatment. Methods: 62 patients with IACF were selected in this study and had been followed up from June 2009 to May 2013. They were placed into two groups; the operative treated and non-operative treated groups. Bilateral ankle lateral view plain radiographs were taken for comparison of the Bohler and Gissane angles. Both groups of patients were assessed by the Maryland Foot Score (MFS) and the SF-36v2 general health survey questionnaire. The ability of the patients to perform activity of daily living (ADL) and /or return to work (RTW) was assessed as well. Results: The operative treatment group of displaced IACF patients achieved no significant better scores in the mean MFS and SF-36v2 mean scores as compared to non operated cases. There was no difference in RTW between the 2 groups, but earlier ADL was recorded in the operated group. However, this study had found 5 associated factors which causes major effect to the patients’ outcome to treatment. Conclusions: The patient’s compliance with post-operative rehabilitation regimen were found to be significantly related with the outcomes.
fractures

Basic science and experimental research on stem cells has increased exponentially in the last decade. Our present knowledge about stem cell biology is better than ever before. This new paradigm shift in research has been reflected in the field of orthopaedic surgery. Various experimental models have suggested a potential application of stem cells for different orthopaedic conditions, and early clinical results of stem cell use have been encouraging. These cells can be easily isolated, processed and made available for clinical use. From healing of bone defects caused by trauma, tumor or infection to cartilage defects, nerve, tendon and ligament healing, stem cell use has the potential to revolutionize orthopaedic practice. The purpose of this article is to orient a general orthopaedic surgeon towards the current use and clinical applications of stem cell based therapy in orthopaedics and to provide a complete overview of the clinical advances in this field.
Stem Cells

Introduction: Unstable posterior pelvic ring injuries are best treated with operative methods due to better post-op functional score. Our patient cohort was involved in heavy manual laboring frequently required ground level work in their activities of daily living. There are very few outcome studies dealing exclusively with such patients. Materials & Methods: Forty one patients who were treated with percutaneous sacroiliac screw fixation under fluoroscopic guidance and were followed-up for at least one year were analyzed retrospectively for functional outcome using the Majeed score. Results: Twenty one (51.22%) and thirteen (31.70%) patients were found to be in excellent and good categories respectively and majority of the patients (thirty/73.17%) were able to return to their original occupation with or without minor adjustments. Conclusion: Percutaneous ilio-sacral screw fixation for posterior pelvic unstable injuries is an acceptable mode of treatment in patients involved in heavy manual laboring. laboring
Pelvic Infection

Delayed presentation of Developmental Dysplasia of Hip (DDH) comes with challenges in treatment as well as high surgical cost. Therefore the objective of this study is to quantify the economic impact of management of late presentation of DDH during a last 3-year period. We conducted a retrospective study with analysis of DDH cases managed between years 2012 to 2014. Early and late presentations of DDH were identified and cost management for both was estimated. Out of twenty-four DDH cases, thirteen cases fulfilled the inclusion criteria. All were female with majority of them presenting with unilateral DDH predominantly of the left hip. Most patients presented after age of six months and the principal complaint was abnormal or limping gait. The grand total cost for managing DDH during the three years period was USD 12,385.51, with 86% of the amount having been used to manage late presentation of DDH that was mostly contributed by the cost of surgery. We concluded that delayed presentation of DDH contributes heavily to high national expenditure. Early detection of DDH cases with systematic neonatal screening may help to minimize the incidence of the late presenting DDH and subsequently reduce the economic burden to the government.
Bone Diseases, Developmental