Current Pediatric Research

We present a new bone micro-absorbable suture anchor technique for spastic varus/equinovarus foot in children with cerebral palsy. Among children, cerebral palsy is the most common serious physical disability. While spasticity is the most common form of hypertonia in Cerebral Palsy (CP) and is experienced by up to 80% of people with CP. Patients with spastic cerebral palsy often have abnormal walking posture due to long-term high muscle tension in the lower limbs, and have pointed feet and varus deformities. A common surgical treatment for spastic varus/equinovarus foot in children with cerebral palsy is tibialis anterior tendon transposition to rebuild ankle dorsiflexion function.

Previously, the transferred tibial anterior tendon was routinely fixed with bone metal suture anchors, which may cause discomfort such as restricted movement after operation, and the long-term indwelling of the anchors in the body, may lead to anchor displacement, slippage, trauma and fracture involving the anchors leading to the risk and complications of anchors removal. Because the sensitivity and mobility of the patient's toes are relatively high, it is required to minimize the damage to the tissues around the tendons and ligaments, and the absorbable suture anchor is the most delicate microabsorbable anchor at present, and it is not easy to cause postoperative complications and discomfort such as restricted movement.

Therefore, we try to use this anchor in clinical practice, and find that the effect is satisfactory, and it also avoided the above-mentioned risks and complications of long-term indwelling of the anchors in the body. Therefore, the bone micro absorbable suture anchor of the spastic varus/equinovarus foot in children with spastic cerebral palsy is an effective technique that does not require hardware removal and is an alternative treatment option to bone metal suture anchors fixation.

Author(s): Song Zhang*, Haibo Zhang, Jie Ma

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