Neglected surgically intervened bilateral congenital dislocation of knee in an adolescent

Abstract

Neglected bilateral congenital dislocation of knee is unusual. A 12 year old boy presented with inability to walk due to buckling of the knee. The symptoms were present since the child learnt walking. He preferred not to walk. Bilateral supracondylar femoral osteotomy was done at the age of 6 years. Patient had a fixed flexion deformity of both knees, 30° in the right (range of flexion from 30° to 45°) and 45° fixed flexion deformity in left knee respectively (range of flexion from 45° to 65°) when presented to us. The radiological examination revealed bilateral congenital dislocation of knee (CDK). No syndromic association was observed. He was planned for staged treatment. In stage I, the knee joints were distracted by Ilizarov ring fixators and this was followed by open reduction of both the knee joints in stage II. A bilateral supracondylar extension osteotomy was done 18 months after the previous surgery (stage III). The final followup visit at 4 years the patient presented with range of motion 5-100° and 5-80° on the right and left knee respectively with good functional outcome. The case is reported in view of lack of treatment guidelines for long standing neglected CDK in an adolescent child.