Assessment of percutaneous correction of genu varum in children and young adults

Abstract

Purpose: Corrective osteotomy is the gold standard for varus angular deformity, but is a major surgical intervention with operative site morbidity. The proposed percutaneous technique adds a lot of privileges to corrective osteotomy . It is cosmetically accepted , minimize the risk of infection, acute correction, no need for plate fixation or for a staged operation to remove hardware. Patients and methods: 25 cases (30 limbs) were included in our study. 12 patients were males (14 limbs) and 13 patients were female (16 limbs). Six patients have bilateral genu varum, 19 have unilateral genu varum. The youngest was 13 years and the oldest was 50 years with average (20) years. All patients were treated with percutaneous upper tibial osteotomy technique and above knee casting. The protocol of postoperative rehabilitation was standardized. The patients were followed post-operatively for at least 3 months to evaluate the correction, time required for union, knee joint range of motion, and the overall functional result of the knee using bostman scoring system. Results: All patients treated with the percutaneous osteotomy consolidated and displayed a marked improvement of functional and radiological outcome measures.