Treatment of Rigid Talipes Equinovarus Deformity with Llizarov Technique

LI Hua-long; KONG Zhen; SUN Yong-jian

Abstract：Objective To study the clinical effect and radiological evaluation of Ilizarov technique in treatment of severe rigid talipes equinovarus deformity. Methods Between January 2009 and June 2012,25 patients(30 feet)with rigid talipes equinovarus were treated with Ilizarov external fixtor. We took preoperative foot X-ray examination and recorded the angle from the patients′radiographs,choose the external fixtor according to the patient′s condition. Ilizarov external fixator was placed in relative position of the foot and leg during operation. The nuts were adjusted from 5 days after operation with range of 1 mm in 4 times per day. Then distraction stopped when the ankle was corrected at the position of appropriate hyperextension. The af-fected limb might undergo weight bearing walking with external fixation at corrected position for 4 to 6 weeks. Foot X-ray was taken after removal of the external fixation to measure the angles and compare with the preoperative data. Results All patients were followed up 8 months to 2 years with an average of 12 months. There is no neurovascular injury and other complications occurred during the whole orthopedic process. The deformity was corrected 5 to 7 weeks after the treatment of Ilizarov tech-nique,the average fixation time was 14 weeks. According to the Garceau standard scale,the result was excellent in 23 feet,good in 4 feet,poor in 3 feet. The mean of the overall TCA-AP and TCA-LAT angle values increased(P<0. 001). The mean of the overall TMT1-AP angle values decreased(P<0. 001). Conclusion Ilizarov technique is an effective method of treating rigid talipes equinovarus deformity with advantages of minimally invasive,safe and simple. There is a significant improvement in ra-diographic measurements after treatment.