The humerus is the best place for bone lengthening.

The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of lengthening the humerus in children and young adults. Between 1984 and 2005, the Orthopaedic Department of Semmelweis University elongated 11 humeri (ten patients) for reasons of congenital hypoplasia (four cases), osteomyelitis (three cases), epiphyseolysis, growth plate closure after irradiation and obstetrical paralysis (one case each). The study cohort consisted of five females and five males, with an average age at the time of surgery of 17.8 years (range: 12-31 years). In every case, the lengthening was performed with a unilateral Wagner fixator. The lengthening protocol was 1 mm distraction daily (callotasis) after a 7-day latency period. The fixator was removed after total bone healing. Plate fixation or bone transplantation was not used. The average rate of lengthening was 6.2 cm (4.5-10.5 cm), and the achieved lengthening was 27% (range: 16-44%). The average healing index was 32 day/cm. One patient who suffered from temporary radial paresis, and temporary flexion contracture of the elbow was regarded as a complication following placement of the fixator. Based on our results, humeral shortening can effectively be treated with the unilateral Wagner fixator. The main difference between the original Wagner method and our approach is that we were able to leave the fixator in the humerus until total bony reconstruction so there was no need for plate fixation or bone transplantation.

Open adductor tenotomy in the prevention of hip subluxation in cerebral palsy.

We reviewed radiographs of 76 hips in 41 patients with cerebral palsy treated with open adductor tenotomy because of hip subluxation. The majority of patients suffered from spastic diplegia. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of adductor release on hip subluxation. We measured the centre-edge angle and migration percentage pre-operatively and 1 and 3 years post-operatively. We considered the results according to patients' age at time of surgery (younger or older than 4 years of age) and ability to walk. Children younger than 4 years of age had better results than children older than 4 years of age. In children without walking ability, more than half of the hips had further radiological subluxation. In children with walking ability, we observed stabilisation or improvement of femoral-head subluxation in more than three quarters of the cases.