A 15-year-old girl with a severe congenital anomaly of the lower limb has already undergone 8 surgical interventions in different hospitals of Ukraine.
However, there was a significant 5-thousand-centimeter shortening and multi-plane deformation of both the hip and lower leg with impaired function of the knee and ankle joints.
After the examination and comprehensive examination of the child, a decision was made on operative treatment – installation of an external fixation device (AFF). In this case, the correction of the existing deformities was performed during surgery, and the lengthening of the limb segments (both thigh and lower leg) on AZF is a long process and should occur gradually with a distraction rate of about 1 mm per day.
“Such treatment requires careful pre-operative preparation, as it takes place against the background of the child’s completed growth, therefore it is necessary to take into account all existing deformities, eliminate them and plan the lengthening of the limb once and for the rest of the patient’s life,” said Oleksandr Korolkov, head of the clinic of neuro-orthopaedics, traumatology and rehabilitation of the Okhmatdyt Hospital .
“We plan to restore the length of the femur completely, i.e. lengthen the bone by 3.5 cm, and the tibia by 1.5 cm, however, after the end of the “twisting in the apparatus”, fixation in the AZF should be extended to 3-4 months, until the regeneration is completely rebuilt into a complete bone. Currently, the patient walks with crutches and partial support on the operated limb. The child was discharged from the hospital on the 5th day after the intervention. The limb lengthening process is performed by the child’s parents at home, and is supervised by orthopedists. We are sure of the positive result of the performed interventions and the excellent final result of the treatment, which will allow the girl to return to a full life in the future,” said Oleksandr Korolkov.