Limb deformity and limb lengthening

Limb deformity occurs when a bone isn’t a straight or as long as it should be. Long bones like the femur and tibia can become bent, bowed or malrotated by a variety of congenital or acquired disorders. This can impact an arm or leg’s function and cause joint pain. Careful clinical and radiographic (xray) assessment is important to correctly plan surgical treatment to correct the deformity. Limb lengthening is also possible surgically although sometimes it’s easier and better to slow the growth of the longer leg (this procedure is called epiphysiodesis) to get both legs to the same length by the time you stop growing.