Objective. In pursuance of thoroughly understanding and facilitating the evaluation of the radiological changes in the preloaded bone by Compliant Pre-Stress osseointegration (Compress Biomet, Warsaw, Indiana) a new staging method was created depicting four stages. Methods. Two cohorts (10 and 17 patients resp., not-receiving and receiving chemotherapy) were compared in terms of progression of osseointegration. Based on the changes at the bone-metal interface seen on röntgenorgrams four stages were defined: stage 0: immediate postoperative status, no ingrowth, or noncalcified callus; stage 1: early mineralization, calcified callus; stage 2: mature mineralization; and stage 3: hypertrophy at the level of the pins. Results. There were no significant differences between the two cohorts. Group 2, which was significantly younger than group 1 (p < 0.001), presented a delayed initial rate of bone formation and reached stage 1 at 6 months instead of 3 months like group 1. The children from the group 2 demonstrated a visible rebound ingrowth. Conclusion. Despite the fact that the staging fails to demonstrate a statistical difference, it is rather simple and can be used for future studies.

A 66-year-old Caucasian female presented with insidious sciatic pain leading to an uncommon diagnosis of tuberculous osteomyelitis with unknown portal entry. The patient did not report a history of a previous tuberculosis (TB) infection and her chest X-ray was negative for TB. Considering TB in the differential diagnosis of a 'bone abscess', it is of paramount importance to come to a correct diagnosis. Conventional radiographs still remain the first-line imaging modality for evaluation of skeletal symptomatology. However, biopsies or aspirates are often needed to yield the definitive diagnosis. The lack of awareness of the potential extrapulmonary involvement of TB leads to an important delay in diagnosis and treatment. Antituberculous drugs should be started at the time of biopsy and continued during 12-18 months, due to poor drug penetration into osseous and fibrous tissues.

Combined pectoralis major disruption and proximal humeral fractures are uncommon. A simple radiologic diagnostic tool which consists of the measurement of the displacement from the humeral shaft to the lateral side of the humeral head (lateral to the outer proximal cortex) can help to diagnose this combined lesion.

Our study yielded a 16% false positive rate in cultures of synovial biopsy taken during primary total hip arthroplasty of healthy subjects, suggesting that contamination risk of these synovial biopsy cultures may be larger than assumed by clinicians.