Outpatient percutaneous heel cord lengthening in children.
Outpatient percutaneous tendo Achillis lengthening is a quick, complication-free, inexpensive approach to a common pediatric orthopedic problem. The procedure is a known alternative to conventional open procedures, but it is not widely used. This study outlines the advantage of the percutaneous procedure performed in outpatient surgery with the patient under a general anesthetic. Fifty-five patients were operated on between December 1980 and March 1984. Overall results were excellent, with 97% improvement in gait. There were no infections. Percutaneous heel cord lengthening in children is a safe and simple operation, yielding results equal to those of open procedures. The advantage of outpatient surgery adds a further positive dimension to this procedure.
D000125:Achilles Tendon / Q000601:surgery*; D000556:Ambulatory Surgical Procedures; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000534:rehabilitation; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male