Surgery

 

Dr Matthew Dobbs, a Washington University orthopedic surgeon at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, uses a minimally-invasive surgical procedure to accomplish the tendon lengthening. This allows the muscle to return to its normal length and the joint to straighten, and is one step in helping children walk with their heels on the floor and knees straight.

Unlike other surgical approaches to tendon lengthening, the minimally-invasive procedure allows for a quicker recovery and in most cases, children start therapy the next day. The hamstring, gastroc and heel cord (Achilles tendon) are the most common structures that need lengthening. The procedure is performed in an operating room under general anesthesia. A minimally invasive feathering technique is used to lengthen the tendon as opposed to the traditional method of cutting and reattaching the tendon.