ISSN:
1432-2161
Keywords:
Keywords Ectopic calcification
;
Deep posterior compartment syndrome
;
Computed tomography
;
Carbonate-containing apatite
;
Electron microscopy
;
X-ray diffraction
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Abstract We present a patient whose ectopic calcification following deep posterior compartment syndrome was studied by electron microscopy, chemical analyses, and X-ray diffraction. The patient complained of a toe flexion deformity following a tibial fracture which he sustained 18 years earlier. Damage to the peroneal artery was demonstrated by magnetic resonance angiography, suggesting that the patient had had deep posterior compartment syndro-me in the past. A large radiopaque mass, identified in the flexor hallucis longus muscle by radiographs and computed tomography, was resected, resulting in a dramatic improvement of the toe deformity. The resected material was analyzed in detail. It included no osseous tissue, and was not birefringent under a polarizing microscope, being compatible with ectopic calcification rather than ossification. On electron microscopy the material was found to be an assembly of tiny rods. Chemical and X-ray diffraction analyses suggested a carbonate-containing apatite as the most probable substance.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s002560000267
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