DOES RECTUS FEMORIS TRANSFER INCREASE KNEE FLEXION DURING STANCE PHASE IN CEREBRAL PALSY?

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether distal rectus femoris transfer (DRFT) is related to postoperative increase of knee flexion during the stance phase in cerebral palsy (CP). METHODS: The inclusion criteria were Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels I-III, kinematic criteria for stiff-knee gait at baseline, and individuals who underwent orthopaedic surgery and had gait analyses performed before and after intervention. The patients included were divided into the following two groups: NO-DRFT (133 patients), which included patients who underwent orthopaedic surgery without DRFT, and DRFT (83 patients), which included patients who underwent orthopaedic surgery that included DRFT. The primary outcome was to evaluate in each group if minimum knee flexion in stance phase (FMJFA) changed after treatment. RESULTS: The mean FMJFA increased from 13.19° to 16.74° (p=0.003) and from 10.60° to 14.80° (p=0.001) in Groups NO-DRFT and DRFT, respectively. The post-operative FMJFA was similar between groups NO-DRFT and DRFT (p=0.534). The increase of FMJFA during the second exam (from 13.01° to 22.51°) was higher among the GMFCS III patients in the DRFT group (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: In this study, DRFT did not generate additional increase of knee flexion during stance phase when compared to the control group. Level of Evidence III, Retrospective Comparative Study.