Open lateral wedge osteotomy of the calcaneum for severe postural pes valgus in children.

Conservative treatment for postural pes valgus in children is, on occasions, unsuccessful in the more severe cases. Where adequate conservative treatment had failed, it was decided to correct the deformity by performing an open lateral wedge osteotomy of the calcaneum, as advocated by Dwyer. When the Achilles tendon was short, an open elongation of the tendon was added to the procedure. In this series, 10 patients from 5 to 14 years of age with marked postural pes valgus were treated. Satisfactory results are reported after an average follow-up period of 9 years. A possible explanation for the success of the operation is discussed.