Coronal malalignment and leg length discrepancies (LLD) are frequently associated. Temporary hemiepiphysiodesis (tHED) is commonly employed for the correction of limb malalignment in skeletally immature patients. For treatment of LLD greater than 2 cm, lengthening with intramedullary legnthening nails is a safe and reliable technique. However, the combined application of these approaches in skeletally immature patients has not yet been investigated. Retrospective radiological and clinical analysis of 25 patients (14 females, 11 males) who underwent intramedullary femoral lengthening with an antegrade PRECICE® lengthening nail as well as tHED of the distal femur and / or proximal tibia between 2014 and 2019. tHED was conducted by implantation of flexible staples (FlexTack™) either prior (n = 11), simultaneously (n = 10), or subsequently (n = 4) to femoral lengthening. The mean follow-up period was 3.7 years (±1.4).Introduction
Materials & Methods
Intraoperative assessment of coronal alignment is important when performing corrective osteotomies around the knee and ankle, limb lengthening and trauma surgery. The Joint Angle Tool (JAT) provides surgeons with information about the anatomic and mechanical axes intraoperatively based on true anteroposterior radiographs. Aim: Presentation of the JAT, a low-cost goniometer for intraoperative assessment of the lower limb alignment. The JAT consists of pre-printed joint orientation angles of the anatomic and mechanical axis including normal variations on a plastic sheet. It is placed on the screen of the image intensifier after obtaining a true anterior-posterior image. The pre-printed joint orientation angles can intraoperatively assist the surgeons in achieving the pre-planned axis correction. Here, its feasibility is demonstrated in four cases.Introduction
Materials and Methods
