title: Preliminary results of 97 percutaneous gastrocnemius muscular lengthening operations in neurologically healthy children with an equinus contracture.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We report a gastrocnemius lengthening in neurologically healthy children, whose gastrocnemius equinus could not be corrected non-operatively.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-five children with an equinus contracture were included in this study. Ninety-seven operations were performed in these patients. The mean age was 11.5 years [6-16] and sixty percent of the patients were male. After 12 weeks we measured dorsiflexion post-surgery and after one year all parents of patients were telephoned and asked about their satisfaction with the result of the surgical treatment. Persistence of pre-operative complaints and complications were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ankle dorsiflexion significantly improved by more than 11° post-surgery compared with preoperative (p=0.01). The mean satisfaction was 8.0 [4-10] on a 10-point VAS scale. Except one complication of ankle fracture during surgery, no other clinically relevant complications were observed. At follow up 50% of the patients have no complaints, 47% reported an improvement but some persisting complaints and 3% of the patients report no improvement.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Percutaneous muscular gastrocnemius lengthening can be used to correct gastrocnemius equinus in otherwise healthy children, who have not benefited from prior nonsurgical treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopeadic Surgery, Spaarne Hospital, Spaarnepoort 1-3, 2134 TM Hoofddorp, The Netherlands. annelies_v_b@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Annelies F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: van Bemmel
authors.forename: Michel P J
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: van den Bekerom
authors.forename: Jeanette
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Verhart
authors.forename: Diederik A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Vergroesen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D004863:Equinus Deformity / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000601:surgery*; D016896:Treatment Outcome