Heel Cord Advancement in Children with Spastic Equinus Deformity

Janet L. Walker, David B. Stevens, Nancy Stanley Clark, Andrew R. Opfell

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Heel cord advancement has been advocated for treatment of spastic equinus deformity. Transferring the gastrosoleus anteriorly weakens it by changing the lever arm rather than the resting length. A retrospective review of 90 children with 122 limbs undergoing heel cord advancement revealed 11% excellent, 53% good, and 35% poor results (average follow-up 9.7 years). The results were statistically better in diplegics and community walkers. The better results in previous studies may be due to procedure modifications and shorter follow-up. Since we obtain comparable results with simpler heel cord lengthenings, we no longer do heel cord advancement.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)536-540
Number of pages5
JournalFoot and Ankle International
Volume15
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 1994

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Surgery
  • Orthopedics and Sports Medicine

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