[Treatment of undesirable results following operations on the proximal end of the femur in children (author's transl)].

The initial results following operations on the proximal end of the femur in children may not be permanent. They are frequently altered by further growth of the bone. This influence of growth on the operative result cannot always be predicted. The author reports 6 cases with poor results following operations on the proximal end of the femus. In 3 children varus-rotation osteotomies resulted in pseudarthrosis and/or severe angulation. Resection of a solitary bone cyst and operative treatment of fractures of the proximal femur in 2 other cases produced similar complications. Treatment of these undesirable results consisted of osteotomy with correction in all 3 dimensions and medial displacement of the shaft under the neck of the femur. Fixation of the fragments was obtained with traction-bracing according to Pauwels. The early results were good in all cases. The author concludes that an operation on the proximal end of the femur in children is indicated only when absolutely necessary and when it is fairly certain that growth cannot alter the results unfavorably. Only those procedures should be recommended which have been shown to give satisfactory results in an adequate number of cases that remain unaltered throughout the entire growth period.