In vivo temperature measurements were performed at drilling in the femoral cortex of the rabbit, dog and man. In the clinical study the bone temperature was measured at fixation of a Richards plate to stabilize a pertrochanteric fracture. With a drill speed of around 20 000 rpm and saline cooling, temperatures of 40 degrees C in rabbits, 56 degrees C in dogs and 89 degrees C in patients were recorded at a distance of 0.5 mm from the periphery of the drill hole. The difference in temperature between the animal and clinical studies was mainly attributed to the difference in cortical thickness between the species. When drilling straight through the canine femur from the lateral to the medial side, a 9 degrees C higher temperature was measured in the remote, medial cortex compared to that recorded in the lateral cortex. This difference arose because it is difficult for the cooling agent to reach the medial cortex. The results of the present study indicate that temperatures measured in animal experiments are not applicable to the clinical situation where very high temperatures may arise on drilling in cortical bone, even if saline cooling is used.

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A follow-up study of 111 out of 112 patients operated on for shoulder joint dislocation according to the Bristow-Latarjet procedure during the years 1975 through 1979 in four Swedish hospitals is presented. The average follow-up time was 30 months (range 24-60 months). There were seven cases of significant recurrences (6 per cent). During follow-up, further surgery had been performed on four of these. Another eight patients (7 per cent) had experienced occasional insignificant subluxations. In one case neurolysis of the musculocutaneous nerve was undertaken because of postoperative paresis of elbow flexors. The average limitation of outward rotation as compared with the nonoperated side was 19 degrees in adduction and 21 degrees in abduction. There was a measurable difference in strength between the operated and nonoperated shoulders. The results were considered excellent or good by 101 of the patients (90 per cent), fair by eight and bad by three. Of 12 cases with failed surgery before the Bristow-Latarjet procedure 10 regarded the result as good or excellent.