Possible Uses of Distraction Osteogenesis
Although distraction osteogenesis is most often used in the treatment of post-traumatic injuries, it is increasingly used to correct limb discrepancies caused by congenital conditions and old injuries. A list of the possible uses of distraction osteogenesis are as follows:
- Congenital deformities (birth defects):
- Congenital short femur;
- Fibular hemimelia (absence of the fibula, which is one of the two bones between the knee and the ankle);
- Hemiatrophy (atrophy of half of the body); and
- Ollier's disease.
- Developmental deformities
- Neurofibromatosis (a rare condition which causes overgrowth in one leg); and
- Bow legs, resulting from rickets or secondary arthritis.
- Post-traumatic injuries
- Growth plates fractures;
- Malunion or non-union (when bones do not completely join, or join in a faulty position after a fracture);
- Shortening and deformity; and
- Bone defects.
- Infections and diseases
- Osteomyelitis (a bone infection, usually caused by bacteria);
- Septic arthritis (infections or bacterial arthritis); and
- Poliomyelitis (a viral disease which may result in the atrophy of muscles, causing permanent deformity).
- After tumors
- Short stature
- Achondroplasia (a form of dwarfism where arms and legs are very short, but torso is more normal in size); and
- Constitutional short stature.
Read more about this topic: Distraction Osteogenesis
Famous quotes containing the word distraction:
“Physical pleasure is a sensual experience no different from pure seeing or the pure sensation with which a fine fruit fills the tongue; it is a great unending experience, which is given us, a knowing of the world, the fullness and the glory of all knowing. And not our acceptance of it is bad; the bad thing is that most people misuse and squander this experience and apply it as a stimulant at the tired spots of their lives and as distraction instead of a rallying toward exalted moments.”
—Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926)