ABSTRACT
Objective To evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of congenital muscular torticollis (CMT) by two different methods. Methods A total of 86 patients with congenital muscular torticollis in recent 7 years were involved in this study, including 69 cases under 12 years old and 17 cases over 12. Two different operation methods, incision of inferior extremity of sternocleidomastoid muscle and incision of amphi-sternocleidomastoid muscle with post-operative traction, were alternatively chosen according to the ages and deformed degrees of the patients. Results 72 patients were followed-up for 1 to 7 years (averaged 4.5 years). Based on the effect of function and cosmetology in the group of 57 cases under 12 years old, there were 52 cases (91.2 %) excellent, 5 cases (8.8 %) good and no case with side-effects. Meanwhile, in the group of 15 cases over 12 years old, there were 11 cases (73.3 %) excellent, 4 cases (26.7 %) good and no case with side-effects. The effect was satisfactory. Conclusion Different patients with congenital muscular torticollis should be treated with different therapeutic methods.