At the Clinical Centre for Paediatric Medicine, orthopaedic trauma surgeons carried out a minimally invasive procedure that made it possible to equalise the leg length of a 13-year-old boy. Before the operation, the difference between his lower limbs was 2.5 cm.
The family brought a boy named Ostap to the Clinic of Neuroorthopaedics, Traumatology and Rehabilitation, where doctors had recorded a progressive leg length discrepancy: at the age of 11 it was about 2 cm, and later increased to 2.5 cm. According to orthopaedic trauma surgeon Oleksandr Korolkov, conservative methods such as insoles, massage or therapeutic exercise cannot eliminate the underlying cause and only partially compensate for the load.
The medical team decided to use a minimally invasive technique of temporary epiphysiodesis. Its essence lies in temporarily blocking the growth plate of the longer leg so that, as the child grows, the shorter leg can gradually “catch up”. Through small incisions around the knee, specialists inserted special mini-plates: two in the lower third of the femur and another two in the upper third of the tibia. These implants do not destroy the growth plate but only slow its activity in a controlled way, so there was no need for a plaster cast or prolonged immobilisation.
By the 3rd–4th day after surgery, the child was able to walk independently, and within 2–3 weeks he had returned to his usual routine: school, active movement and sport with moderate restrictions. For a year and a half, the boy remained under regular medical supervision.
Follow-up panoramic X-rays confirmed the success of the treatment: the leg length discrepancy decreased from 2.5 cm to 4 mm. This made it possible to dispense with the compensating insole under the shorter leg. After the patient had finished growing, the doctors carried out the second stage of treatment — removal of the implants.
A multidisciplinary team worked on the case: orthopaedic trauma surgeon Oleksandr Korolkov, paediatric orthopaedic trauma surgeon Oleh Tokai, anaesthetist Vira Pryimakova and scrub nurse Tetiana Zakharchenko.