Imbalance and muscle spasticity, in association with coxa valga and persistent femoral anteversion, compromises hip development in cases of cerebral palsy and may result in chronic pain and even dislocation. Some of these hips undergo salvage surgery because of the severe impact of their abnormalities in these patients’ quality of life. We conducted a systematic review of the literature to compare the results from the main hip salvage techniques applied to these individuals. The literature search focused on studies that evaluated results from hip salvage surgery in cases of cerebral palsy, published from 1970 to 2011, which are present in the Embase, Medline, PubMed, Cochrane Library and SciELO databases. Although the results were not statistically comparable, this systematic review demonstrates that hip salvage surgery should be indicated after individual evaluation on each patient, due to the wide spectrum of presentations of cerebral palsy. Therefore, it seems that no surgical technique is superior to any other. Rather, there are different indications.

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Background Treatment of spastic planovalgus feet is challenging, especially in patients with severe and rigid deformities. The available techniques do provide some correction but not at the site of the deformity and sometimes the correction is lost over time. We describe a new surgical approach at the site of the deformity. Technique Indications for the surgery included adolescents or young adults with severe and rigid planovalgus deformities of the feet resulting from cerebral palsy. Through a medial approach, arthrodesis of the talonavicular, navicular-medial cuneiform, and medial cuneiform first metatarsal joints was internally fixed using a single-molded plate over the plantar surface of the foot, recreating the longitudinal arch.Methods We retrospectively reviewed 21 patients (35 feet) with spastic cerebral palsy in whom the new technique was indicated for severe and rigid deformity, gait dysfunction, and pain (mean age, 190 months; range, 96-345 months). The mean age of the patients was 16 years (range, 8-29 years). We analyzed the patients clinically and radiographically. The minimum followup was 2.5 years (mean, 58 months; range, 2.5-7.5 years). Results At last followup, 34 of the 35 feet (97%) had radiographic improvement of the deformity with no difficulties wearing shoes; one patient had persistent pain despite bone union. Union was achieved initially in eight patients (17 feet) and in another eight (10 feet) after revision surgery, of 27 of the 35 feet. The radiographic calcaneal inclination angle improved an average of 13°. The lateral talocalcaneal angle decreased from a mean of 43°to 26°after surgery. Four patients (five feet) had revision surgery for pseudoarthrosis, and another four patients (five feet) had revision surgery for other problems. Conclusions Based on our preliminary observations, we believe stabilization of the medial column is a reasonable option for treating selected patients with severe and rigid planovalgus feet by providing a stable and pain-free foot, recreating the anatomy, and allowing the use of braces or regular shoes. Further studies with longer followup periods will be required to confirm these initial results and to verify if these findings persist over time.

Eight patients with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita (amyoplasia type) (11 knees) with knee hyperextension deformity underwent quadricepsplasty and were analyzed during an average follow-up period of 11 years and 2 months. The results were clinically analyzed based on gait pattern, range of movement, and orthotic requirements. Joint congruency was evaluated by radiography according to the Leveuf Pais classification. A satisfactory result was the correction of the deformity, articular congruency, sufficient range of movement, adequate gait pattern and no need for orthosis. A satisfactory outcome occurred in five of the eight patients (eight knees). We considered an unsatisfactory result when any of these conditions occurred. Our experience demonstrated that the quadricepsplasty corrected the hyperextension deformity of the knee joint, improved function, gait pattern, and maintained the muscle power of the quadriceps.