No abstract

No abstract

This article discusses instrumented spinal surgeries, the radiologic assessment of spinal fixation hardware, and the potential complications of spinal hardware. Radiography is the standard for the postoperative assessment of spinal hardware. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging play a valuable role in the detection of hardware and postsurgical-related complications such as infection, pseudarthrosis, and malpositioned instrumentation. Familiarity with the normal imaging appearance of implanted spinal hardware along with the expected progression of normal postoperative osseous arthrodesis enables recognition of potential complications and helps facilitate appropriate clinical management.

No abstract

Postoperative infections of the knee are uncommon but may occur with joint arthroplasties, fracture fixation, or after arthroscopic procedures. The ultimate diagnosis is made by joint aspiration or tissue sampling. Joint aspiration and tissue sampling can be performed under imaging guidance or intraoperatively. Imaging is an important adjunct to clinical and laboratory findings and should start with radiographs. Cross-sectional imaging including magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, computed tomography (CT), nuclear studies, and ultrasound (US) are frequently used if the diagnosis is in doubt and to evaluate the extent of disease. We discuss the current algorithm in the diagnosis of various postoperative infections of the knee joint. The article addresses the utility of radiography, MR imaging, CT, US, and the most commonly used nuclear studies in the diagnosis of various postoperative knee infections and the imaging appearances of these infections on each of these diagnostic modalities.

Li-Fraumeni syndrome is an autosomal dominant inherited disorder also known as the SBLA cancer syndrome (sarcoma, breast, leukemia, and adrenal). A 39-year-old female patient with a history of bilateral breast cancer treated with bilateral mastectomies and radiation treatment 4 years ago and left chest wall pleomorphic sarcoma 1 year ago presented with a small hypermetabolic right chest wall mass on 18F-FDG PET/CT. This mass was found to be a spindle cell sarcoma. FDG PET/CT plays an important role in following up oncology patients, particularly in group of high-risk malignancy, for detecting small hypermetabolic lesions.

No abstract

Chapter 21 reviews the mechanism of injury and clinical features, imaging strategy, imaging characteristics, and treatment options of knee trauma, including tibial plateau fractures with description of the Schatzker classification, knee dislocation, patellar fractures, and avulsion fractures about the knee. Associated vascular injury with knee dislocation and certain tibial plateau fractures are also discussed. Concomitant ligamentous and meniscal injuries associated with avulsion fractures are described. Oblique radiographs are helpful for detecting tibial plateau fractures. CT is useful in quantifying the degree of depression in tibial plateau fractures. Certain avulsion fractures and signs about the knee are often associated with significant ligamentous injury and should be evaluated with MRI.