LCP 140° Pediatric Hip Plate for fixation of proximal femoral valgisation osteotomy

PURPOSE: Femoral osteotomy is one of the most widely performed reconstructive operations in pediatric orthopedic surgery. Many implants for fixation have been used, but so far there is no literature about the application and outcome of the LCP 140° Pediatric Hip Plate for proximal femoral valgisation in children. METHODS: Data of patients with a valgisation of the proximal femur using the LCP 140° Pediatric Hip Plate between February 2011 and July 2012 were retrospectively collected and analyzed. RESULTS: We included 10 patients (11 hips) with a mean follow-up of 15.3 ± 6.3 months (range 5.6–23 months). The mean age was 9.6 ± 1.2 years (range 7.3–11.8 years) with a mean hospital stay of 5.2 ± 1.7 days (range 3–9 days). Callus formation was observed in all cases at 6 weeks postoperative control and consolidation was shown after a mean time of 14.1 ± 2.3 weeks (range 12.1–19.1 weeks). There was no delayed union or any case of non-union in our series. The stability of the operative reduction including the corrected neck-shaft angle (mean 19° ± 7.9°; range 10.5°–38.5°) was maintained during the follow-up period. No cases of recurrence (varisation) or complications requiring further treatment or revision were observed. CONCLUSIONS: In our series, the 140° LCP Pediatric Hip Plate was shown to be safe and applicable in the clinical setting with good results. We therefore consider this device to be valuable for the correction of pathologic varus conditions of the proximal femur in children.