Acromioclavicular dislocations; open reduction with screw fixation

Athletes with complete separation of the acromioclavicular joint were uniformly restored to full athletic competence by an operation consisting of direct repair of the involved ligamentous structures with temporary fixation by a metallic lag screw approximating the clavicle to the coracoid. The metallic fixation was left in place an average of eight weeks and the screw was then removed under local anesthesia. A number of professional and collegiate football players returned to the rigors of football with no discomfort or disability.

Arthrodesis of the hip with a lag-screw

A method of intra-articular arthrodesis of the hip is described in which fixation is obtained with a lag-screw. Two main advantages are claimed: first, that it is a compression arthrodesis and gives early bony fusion; and second, that it gives adequate internal fixation in most cases so that the disadvantages of a plaster hip spica are avoided, and the patient may walk with crutches two or three weeks after the operation.

The results were satisfactory in forty-seven of the first fifty cases in which this method of arthrodesis was employed. There were two post-operative deaths and one failure to secure fusion in a case of massive necrosis of the femoral head.

Hazards to laboratory staff in centrifuging screw-capped containers

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