PRELIMINARY REPORT ON AMPUTATION VERSUS
RECONSTRUCTION IN TREATMENT OF TIBIAL HEMIMELIA
ACTA ORTHOP TRAUMATOL TURC 2015;49(6):627–633
DOI: 10.3944/AOTT.2015.15.0005
HALIL İBRAHIM BALCI, YAVUZ SAĞLAM, FUAT BİLGİLİ, CENGIZ ŞEN, MEHMET KOCAOĞLU, LEVENT ERALP
ISTANBUL UNIVERSITY ISTANBUL FACULTY OF MEDICINE, DEPARTMENT OF ORTHOPAEDICS AND TRAUMATOLOGY, İSTANBUL, TURKEY
OBJECTIVE: TIBIAL HEMIMELIA IS A RARE DISORDER CHARACTERIZED BY THE ABSENCE OR HYPOPLASIA OF THE TIBIA
WITH ASSOCIATED RIGIDITY. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO RETROSPECTIVELY EVALUATE THE AFFECTIVITY OF RECONSTRUCTIVE
SURGERIES INCLUDING CENTRALIZATION OF THE KNEE-ANKLE JOINTS AND LENGTHENING WITH ILIZAROV
PRINCIPLES, AS WELL AS PHYSICAL AND FUNCTIONAL RESULTS OF AMPUTATION AND RECONSTRUCTION.
METHODS: THIS IS AN IRB-APPROVED RETROSPECTIVE REVIEW OF ALL PATIENTS DIAGNOSED WITH TIBIAL HEMIMELIA
WHO REQUIRED SURGERY AT A SINGLE INSTITUTION BETWEEN 1998 AND 2011. CHARTS WERE ANALYZED FOR CLINICAL
AND RADIOGRAPHICAL FINDINGS. AT FINAL FOLLOW-UP, PATIENTS UNDERWENT PHYSICAL AND RADIOGRAPHIC EXAMINATION.
PATIENTS AND THEIR PARENTS WERE ASKED TO COMPLETE THE SF-10™ HEALTH SURVEY (QUALITYMETRIC
INC., LINCOLN, RI, USA).
RESULTS: TWENTY-ONE PATIENTS (12 MALE, 9 FEMALE) WITH 30 AFFECTED EXTREMITIES WERE INCLUDED. MEAN
AGE WAS 4.8±3.1 YEARS AT INITIAL SURGERY. KNEE LEVEL DISARTICULATION WAS PERFORMED IN 6 EXTREMITIES OF 4
PATIENTS. ONE PATIENT WITH TYPE III UNDERWENT TRANSTIBIAL AMPUTATION. MEAN NUMBER OF SURGERIES FOR
EACH PATIENT WAS 6.4±3.3, AND MEAN DURATION OF EXTERNAL FIXATOR AND CASTING WAS 17±6 MONTHS. MEAN
LENGTHENING WAS 4.9±1.3 CM, AND MEAN LIMB LENGTH DISCREPANCY WAS 3.1±1.7 CM AT 5.8±3.7 YEARS AT
FOLLOW-UP. SF-10™ SCORES WERE SIMILAR IN DISARTICULATED AND RECONSTRUCTED PATIENTS (P=0.63). ALL SCORES
WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER WHEN DISARTICULATION WAS PERFORMED IN CASES OF KNEE INSTABILITY (P<0.01).
CONCLUSION: WHEN STABILITY OF THE KNEE JOINT IS PRESENT, TREATMENT MODALITY SHOULD BE CHOSEN ACCORDING
TO THE EXISTENCE OF THE PROXIMAL TIBIA. AMPUTATION SHOULD BE PREFERRED IN CASES OF KNEE JOINT
INSTABILITY.
KEYWORDS: AMPUTATION; EXTERNAL FIXATION; KNEE CENTRALIZATION; RECONSTRUCTION; SF-10™; TIBIAL HEMIMELIA.
LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: LEVEL III THERAPEUTIC STUDY