Journal of Surgery and Anesthesia

Editorial Note on a Surgical Treatment of Pediatric Genu Varum

Nancy James^* Division of Pediatric Surgery, Universita Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
^*Correspondence: Nancy James, Division of Pediatric Surgery, Universita Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Email:

Received: 10-Sep-2021 Published: 01-Oct-2021, DOI: 10.35248/2684-1606.21.5.e159

Description

Genu varum is a disease of varus deformity marked by bowing at the knee that means the lower leg is angled medially (inward) in relation to the thighs axis which is also known as bow-leggedness or bandy leg or tibia vara. Bowlegs are a condition in which legs appear bowed out, i.e., person's knees stay wide apart even when their ankles are together it is also called congenital genu varum. The most common cause of this disease is rickets or any other condition that prevents bones from forming properly. This condition is mostly seen in children at the age of 18 months, as the way their bodies are positioned in the uterus, most of the babies are born with this kind of disease. Once they begin to start walking and their legs start bearing weight, then their legs usually straighten out. Skeletal problems, tumors, and infections can affect the growth of the leg which results in bowed. Young children with Genu varum may not have any symptoms but adults may notice some pain on the inner aspect of the knee, if they are left untreated it may further cause joint pain, especially while walking. Physiologic genu varum nearly always spontaneously corrects itself as the child grows and this usually occurs at the age of 3 to 5 years. Bowlegs is a disease sometimes be a sign of underlying diseases like Blount’s disease or rackets which may lead to arthritis in the hip and knee. Blount’s disease is also called Tibia Vara. It is a condition a child’s shin start developing abnormally or curving below the knees, this may be apparent early on, but sometimes symptoms may not be noticeable till the child reaches adolescence. This disease is most common in Females. When a child starts to walk early, the bowing of the legs becomes worse, and are at higher risk, they should start walking normally at an age between 11 to 14 months of age. Rickets is a prolonged vitamin D deficiency, which will weaken and softens the bones and cause legs to bow and negatively affects the way our bones break down and rebuild, but they don’t rebuild strongly. Paget’s disease is most commonly seen in older people, and they can successfully manage with early diagnosis treatment.

Bowlegs are so easy to spot out and it may result in bone fractures that haven’t healed properly, bone dysplasia, fluoride poisoning, and abnormally developed bones. Untreated infantile Blount’s disease or Rickets disease results in progressive worsening of the bowing. In most cases, there are no lasting side effects. This condition is fairly common in infants as their cramped position in the womb and no treatment is necessary for infants. If the bowlegs are beyond the age of 2 years they must consult a doctor immediately. Treatment options include braces or surgery to correct or rebuild these bone abnormalities. A doctor may order an X-ray or other imaging tests and sometimes even a blood test which helps to determine whether bowlegs are caused by any other condition like Paget’s disease or Ricket’s disease. Treatment may be recommended if your case of bowlegs is extreme or getting worse, or if an accompanying condition is diagnosed and special shoes, braces, and surgery are recommended to correct bone abnormalities.