Pediatric traumatology and orthopedics

Pediatric traumatology and orthopedics studies all types of congenital and acquired pathologies of the musculoskeletal system, as well as benign formations of the musculoskeletal system in children from the first months of life to 18 years of age. This branch of medicine includes a fairly large and specific range of diseases. These are, first of all, diseases of the musculoskeletal system: congenital deformity of the lower and upper extremities, dislocation of the hip, patella and knee joint, congenital muscular torticollis and other pathologies.

Among the diseases of the musculoskeletal system that are most common in childhood, hip dysplasia, congenital clubfoot, dysplastic syndrome, and joint hypermobility can be noted, which in the future, in the absence of preventive treatment and supervision by an orthopedist, can lead to the development of flat foot deformity, impaired posture and the formation of scoliosis.

Neoplasms of the musculoskeletal system are often diagnosed in children of different ages: osteocartilaginous exostosis, hygroma, various benign tumors (bone cyst, fibrous dysplasia, exostose dysplasia). There are quite a lot of such pathologies. Today, they are successfully operated on from the age of 5-6 years until the end of bone growth.

One of the specific areas of ECSTO work is a surgical leg lengthening in children. Our clinic performs a unique chondroplasty procedure in Russia for children with low growth (from 1 meter), due to the slow development of growth zones. Thanks to the availability of high-tech equipment and tools in the clinic, as well as the use of modern bone grafting techniques, we are able to increase the height of such children from 1 to 1.5 meters.

Another unique area of work is the temporary blocking of growth zones. Suppose a child has suffered an injury: a fracture of the femur. After conservative surgical treatment for a complex comminuted hip fracture, this limb is wedged due to the installation of a plate. As a result of increased blood supply in this area, the bone begins to grow more actively and gradually becomes 1.5-2 cm longer. In standard treatment, the elongated bone is resected, its fusion is achieved, and complex plates are applied with hardware. The modern European technique allows for temporary blocking of the growth zone. Under the control of an electron-optical converter (EOP), a portable X-ray machine that allows performing operations of any complexity on the smallest bones, the growth zone is blocked on both sides, above and below it, by special plates, and the growth process in this area slows down. When the length of the limbs is aligned, the lock is lifted. This operation is performed at the age of 10 years, while the child is growing most actively.