A modified Puddu technique for the treatment of adolescent mild to moderate tibia vara

Abstract

The aim of this work was to evaluate the results of a modified ‘subphyseal’ Puddu technique for the treatment of selected cases of the adolescent tibia vara. Twenty-five legs in 18 patients with adolescent tibia vara between January 2008 and February 2012 were included. The mean value of angular correction was 22.24° (range, 18°–25°, SD 2.0°). All of the osteotomies in this series healed by 8 weeks. There were no postoperative neurologic or vascular complications. At the end of follow-up, no iatrogenic disturbance to the proximal tibial physis was observed, but recurrence was reported in three cases (12%). The modified ‘subphyseal’ Puddu technique is a reproducible, easy, and convenient technique for the treatment of adolescent tibia vara, provided there is proper case selection.