Survey of orthopaedic surgical research in a university center (Linköping)

Since 1969, seven orthopedic dissertations on the following subjects were submitted from the author's hospital. Postoperative use of special elastic bandages and oxyphenbutazone significantly decreased the frequency of thrombosis. Use of a randomized single-blind technique significantly improved chronic cases of lumbago by a new traction treatment called auto-traction. Two control groups were treated by bed rest and analgesics or routine physiotherapy measures. With a new mechanical device for tibial osteotomy, the precision of the angular change was significantly increased. In intracapsular hip fractures treated by Deyerle's technique, only 18% had necrosis of the femoral head after two years. By use of a new radiologic method for determining the stability of tibial fractures it was possible to determine a stability quotient; the quotient established the point at which the fracture could be mobilized without risk of delayed union or pseudarthrosis. In shoulder joint dislocations, three to four weeks of immobilization resulted in a recurrence rate equal to that of ordinary treatment in a sling. In a randomly selected group of people in Sweden, the incidence of shoulder dislocations was 2%. Forty percent of these patients had never seen a doctor. In Colles' fracture, the uptake of radioactive Tc-MDP was significantly increased by treating the fracture with electromagnetic fields. Arthroscopic percutaneous meniscectomies reduced the operation time normally required for an arthrotomy by an average of 30 minutes.