Humeral shaft fractures respond well to conservative treatment and unite without much problem. Since it is uncommon, there is not much discussion regarding the management of nonunion in the literature, and hence this is a challenge to the treating orthopaedic surgeon. Osteoporosis of the fractured bone and stiffness of the surrounding joints compounds the situation further. The Ilizarov fixator, locking compression plate, and vascularised fibular graft are viable options in this scenario but are technically demanding. We used a fibular strut graft for bridging the fracture site in order to enhance the pull-out strength of the screws of the dynamic compression plate. Six patients in the study had successful uneventful union of the fracture at the last follow-up. The fibula is easy to harvest and produces less graft site morbidity. None of the study patients needed additional iliac crest bone grafting. This is the largest reported series of patients with osteoporotic atrophic nonunion of humerus successfully treated solely using the combination of an intramedullary fibular strut graft and dynamic compression plate.

Aggressive juxta-articular giant cell tumours of the lower limbs occurring in young patients are a challenge to the average orthopaedic surgeon. Although it is the treatment of choice for these tumours, wide resection creates a problem for the reconstruction of large bone gaps. We describe our results after resection arthrodesis of such tumours using the technique of bone transport over a long intramedullary nail in 27 patients. This is the first and largest study of its kind in the management of giant cell tumours in the literature. All our patients fared well with this mode of treatment, and none had recurrence or major complications.

We treated 21 consecutive patients between 1998 and 2002 with complex tibial pilon fractures, eight type B and 13 type C, using percutaneous reduction and fixation with the small diameter Ilizarov apparatus. The average patient age was 34±5.6 years (range 28–52 years). Nine of the patients had open fractures (two type I, four type II, and three type IIIA). The patients were followed up regularly at 6-month intervals for 2 years. All fractures united. The fixator was removed at an average of 26.6±4.2 weeks (range 20–34 weeks). The average American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society ankle-hind foot score was excellent in 11 patients, good in five, fair in four, and poor in one. Thirteen patients were able to squat and climb stairs.