The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Vol 61, Issue 3 320-329, Copyright © 1979 by Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc
Epiphyseal stapling for angular deformity at the knee
RC Zuege, TG Kempken and WP Blount
Fifty six patients with angular deformities of eighty-two knees were
treated with epiphyseal stapling between 1954 and 1973 and followed until
maturity. There were sixty-four knock-knees and eighteen bowlegs. In twelve
patients with concurrent leg-length discrepancies, long legs were stapled
asymmetrically. The deformities were allowed to overcorrect before the
staples were removed, but the rebound phenomenon occurred in twenty-two
patients with thirty-five deformities. In older children the staples were
taken out when the legs looked straight. Exaggerated physiological
deformities may correct spontaneously. They should not be stapled before
the skeletal age of eleven in girls and twelve in boys. Secondary
deformities are corrected earlier. There were no significant complications.
Ten revisions of staples were necessary because of extrusion or shifting.
The results were satisfactory or improved in 87 per cent of the
deformities. When it is indicated epiphyseal stapling is a safe and
effective method of correcting angular deformity at the knee in growing
children.
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