Objective To investigate the effectiveness of lateral closing wedge osteotomy for treatment of traumatic cubitus varus deformity in children. Methods Between July 1996 and June 2010, 20 cases of traumatic cubitus varus deformity after humeral supracondylar fracture were treated by lateral closing wedge osteotomy. There were 13 boys and 7 girls, aged from 7 to 14 years (mean, 10.6 years). The left elbow was involved in 12 cases and right elbow in 8 cases. Thirteencases had received closed reduction, percutaneous Kirschner wire fixation, and external fixation in other hospital, and 7 cases misdiagnosed as elbow luxation and soft tissue injury had given external fixation. Cubitus varus deformity occurred at 2-12 years after injury. Preoperatively, the elbow range of motion (ROM) in flexion and extension was 100-150° (mean, 133.0°) and 0-24° (mean, 11.7°), respectively. The angle of cubitus varus deformity was 20-50° (mean, 32.1°). Results All incisions healed by first intention, and no related complication occurred. A total of 17 patients were followed up 1-14 years (mean, 5 years). X-ray films revealed that bone union was achieved in all cases within 5-8 weeks after operation (mean, 6 weeks). The deformity of cubitus varus was corrected in all cases. At last follow-up, the elbow ROM in flexion and extension was 110-150° (mean, 135.9°) and 0-27° (mean, 12.9°), respectively. According to Jupiter et al. elbow score system, the results were excellent in 14 cases, good in 2 cases, and fair in 1 case; the excellent and good rate was 94.1%. One patient underwent recurrence at 1 month after removal of the Kirschner wire, and lateral closing wedge osteotomy was performed again after 1 year. Conclusion Lateral closing wedge osteotomy is a safe and effective surgical procedure in correcting traumatic cubitus varus deformity in children, which is easy to operate and can be effective in reducing the complications.
ObjectiveTo investigate effectiveness of picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) in lateral wedge osteotomy for cubitus varus deformity in teenagers.MethodsA clinical data of 16 teenagers with cubitus varus deformity between July 2014 and July 2016 was retrospectively analyzed. All patients were treated with lateral wedge osteotomy and fixed with plate. Before operation, the osteotomy design (the osteotomy angle and length) was done in the PACS, including the carrying angle of healthy limb and the varus angle of affected side. There were 10 males and 6 females, with an average age of 11.4 years (range, 10-17 years). The disease duration ranged from 2 to 10 years (mean, 5.6 years). The preoperative X-ray film showed that the supracondylar fractures of the humerus had all healed, and 9 cases had internal rotation deformity; the varus angle of the affected side was 19.5°-33.5°. After operation, the fracture healing and cubitus varus deformity correction were observed by X-ray films, the elbow function was evaluated by Mayo scoring, and the elbow range of motion was detected.ResultsThere was no significant difference between the actual intraoperative osteotomy angle and length and the preoperative design (P>0.05). The hospital stay was 2-8 days, with an average of 4.5 days. No complication such as incision infection or ulnar nerve injury occurred. All 16 cases were followed up 12-18 months, with an average of 14 months. X-ray films showed that the osteotomy healed at 2-7 months after operation, with an average of 2.5 months. The internal fixators were removed within 8-14 months after operation (mean, 12.0 months). X-ray films measurement showed that the carrying angle of the affected side recovered to (10.3±2.0)° at 1 day after operation, which was not significantly different from that of the healthy side [(10.6±1.5)°] before operation (t=0.480, P=0.637). The carrying angle of the affected side was (9.8±2.6)° at 1 year after operation, which was not significantly different from that of the healthy side [(10.4±1.6)°] at the same time point (t=0.789, P=0.438). At 1 year after operation, the ranges of flexion and extension of affected side were (131.6±8.4)° and (6.4±2.6)°, respectively; and the ranges of flexion and extension of healthy side were (134.2±6.3)° and (5.9±2.2)°, respectively. There was no significant difference between the healthy and affected sides (t=1.143, P=0.262; t=0.587, P=0.561). The elbow joint function at 1 year after operation evaluated by Mayo scoring standard rated as excellent in 9 cases, good in 6 cases, and fair in 1 case, and the excellent and good rate was 93.7%.ConclusionBefore lateral wedge osteotomy, the PACS is used to design the osteotomy angle and length, which can guide the operation and make the osteotomy more accurate and simple.