Over a 25-year period, 12 patients had from 2.5 to 5.1 cm operative shortening of the tibia and fibula for leg length discrepancy at between four and 18 years of age. All recovered normal function and there was minor cosmetic impairment in only two cases. The only vascular complication was temporary delay in return of the circulation to the foot after tourniquet removal in one patient. The procedure is valuable for discrepancy of tibial length in patients when they present too late for epiphyseal arrest, when there is doubt as to the appropriate timing for epiphyseal arrest, or when it is uncertain at an earlier stage whether there is need for surgical correction.

The feet of 13 spina bifida patients who had undergone triple arthrodesis in adolescence were reviewed at an average of 10 years after operation. Fifteen of 18 feet were considered satisfactory (83%); of the remaining three, two had recurrent planovalgus deformities and one a painful pseudarthrosis. Three feet had required revision of the triple arthrodesis, and there was one postoperative infection. No patient had lost ambulatory status as a result of foot problems and eight of the 10 patients who previously needed calipers were able to discard them or to use lighter ones.