Complications related to postoperative casting after surgical treatment of subluxed/dislocated hips in patients with cerebral palsy

Three hundred sixteen subluxed/dislocated hips (222 patients) underwent upper femoral osteotomy. Of these, 286 (90.5%) hips were casted (average patient age: 8.9 years) and 30 (9.5%) were not (average patient age: 13.6 years). Average follow-up was 4.7 years. Complications in the casted/noncasted groups (per hip) were: 43/0 (15%/0%) skin sores; 11/1 (3.8%/3.3%) wound infections; 6/0 (2.1%/0%) instrumentation failures; 22/1 (7.7%/3.3%) reoperations; and 13/1 (4.5%/3.3%) rehospitalizations. Differences between the groups were not statistically significant. Casted patients were younger and more neurologically involved. Casting is useful to ensure healing of osteotomies, prevent instrumentation failure and injury to the operated legs, and allow for ease of handling. Complications that occurred were managed and had no long-term sequelae.     

The natural history of spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis

We performed a prospective roentgenographic study to determine the incidence of spondylolysis, spondylolisthesis, or both, in 500 unselected first-grade children from 1955 through 1957. The families of the children with spondylolysis were followed in a similar manner. The incidence of spondylolysis at the age of six years was 4.4 per cent and increased to 6 per cent in adulthood. The degree of spondylolisthesis was as much as 28 per cent, and progression of the olisthesis was unusual. The data support the hypothesis that the spondylolytic defect is the result of a defect in the cartilaginous anlage of a vertebra. There is a hereditary pre-disposition to the defect and a strong association with spina bifida occulta. Progression of a slip was unlikely after adolescence and the slip was never symptomatic in the population that we studied.