Femoral anteversion in children with cerebral palsy. Assessment with two and three-dimensional computed tomography scans.

Background: Assessment of femoral anteversion in children with cerebral palsy with two or three-dimensional computed tomography scans may be limited by both positional and anatomic variables. Three-dimensional computed tomography techniques are considered to be more accurate than two-dimensional imaging when the femur is not optimally positioned in the gantry or when the neck-shaft angle is increased.

Methods: Computed tomography scanning was performed on a series of nine model femora with anteversion ranging from 20 degrees to 60 degrees and neck-shaft angles ranging from 120 degrees to 160 degrees.

Skin surface pressure beneath an above-the-knee cast: plaster casts compared with fiberglass casts.

Complications related to immobilization in a cast after an injury or an operation may be related to the materials used for the cast or to the techniques of application, or to both. To evaluate the widely held clinical opinion that the use of a fiberglass cast is dangerous and inappropriate when subsequent swelling of the extremity is anticipated, we studied the skin surface pressures that were generated beneath above-the-knee casts made with different materials and applied with different techniques. A prosthetic model of the lower extremity was designed with an expandable calf compartment to simulate swelling after an injury or an operation.