Illizarov Techniques
The Illizarov method is a specialized technique used for the treatment of bone deformities and lengthening. This technique is particularly beneficial for patients with complex bone fractures or leg length discrepancies.
HISTORY
The Ilizarov surgical method of distraction osteogenesis (regeneration of bone and soft tissues) for repairing complex fractures of the bones of the limbs is the preferred treatment for cases featuring a high risk of bacterial infection; and for cases wherein the extent and severity of the fracture precludes using internal fixators to immobilise the damaged bone for proper repair.
In 1968, Ilizarov successfully treated the non-union osteopathy of Valeriy Brumel, a Soviet athlete, who suffered a broken ankle and a broken shinbone (tibia) of the right leg, had undergone more than twenty failed bone-repair surgeries in three years, and yet his broken leg-bones had not healed and the leg was shorter than before the motorcycle accident in 1965. By way of distraction osteogenesis and an external-fixation apparatus, Ilizarov resolved Brumel's osteopathic non-union, by growing new leg bone, which extended the athlete's leg 3.5 cm (1.4 in) to its normal length.
In 1980, Ilizarov successfully treated the osteopathic non-union of Carlo Mauri, a journalist and an explorer, who, ten years earlier, had broken the distal end of a tibia in an Alpine accident, yet his broken leg-bone had yet to heal.[1][2] During an expedition in the Atlantic Ocean, Mauri's leg wound reopened; a concerned teammate, a Russian doctor, recommended that Mauri consult with Ilizarov for proper diagnosis, surgical repair, and treatment in the city of Kurgan, Russia.[1][2]
In 2013, consequent to a PTSD-induced fall that broke his left leg, the British war correspondent Ed Vulliamy underwent limb-sparing medical treatment that featured surgeries and an Ilizarov apparatus to repair and heal the severely fractured bones in his left leg.
What we are doing
We at our center is regularly doing illizarov limb lengthening procedure.
