So-called Pseudarthrosis of the Tibia

This paper reports a follow-up study of 23 cases of congenital pseudarthrosis of the tibia treated at Orthopaedic Department of Kyusyu University during fifty years from 1925 to 1975.It is of note that these 23 cases represent less than 0.1 per cent of the more than 25000 patients treated in our department of Orthopaedic Surgery.The distribution by sex and side affected is as follows;1) Male: Female=12:112) Right: Left=8:15Of the seventeen cases of pseudarthrosis, eight had cafe au lait spots of skin pigmentation and the familial incidence of the pigmentations had been found in six of these eight cases, four were diagnosed neurofibromatosis, and four were fibrous dysplasia. This incidence seemed to suggest the relationship of these three diseases or conditions.Thickenning of periosteum affected was found in almost of the cases, and it may relate to the pathogenesis of congenital pseudarthrosis of the tibia.The methode of operation, that we have been employing, is repoted in this paper and we suggest that it is important to fix the fragments so firmly and to use bone grafts.We, orthopaedic surgeons, should never amputate the leg. Keep tring, keep tring.