title: Triple tenodesis of the knee. A soft-tissue operation for the correction of paralytic genu recurvatum.
abstract: There are two types of genu recurvatum: one with bone deformity, which responds well to osteotomy, and one with posterior soft-tissue laxity with secondary bone changes. To date, no reliable treatment short of arthrodesis has been effective for the second type. An operation for this type of genu recurvatum (post-poliomyelitic) is described: a soft-tissue reconstruction of the lax tissues posterior to the knee joint done in three layers. The operation was done on sixteen knees in fourteen patients, with an average follow-up of four years and three months. The average recurvatum before surgery was 42 degrees and at the time of follow-up it was 6 degrees. Preliminary surgery is often required and precise surgical technique and prolonged bracing after surgery also are needed. All but one patient was made brace-free provided the limb operated on was not flail.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001915:Braces; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007592:Joint Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008722:Methods; D011051:Poliomyelitis / Q000150:complications; D011182:Postoperative Care; D013710:Tendons / Q000601:surgery*