Knee flexion contractures in myelodysplasia.

From 1976 to 1982, 12 children with myelodysplasia had surgery at our institution for knee flexion contractures (21 affected knees). Follow-up was a minimum of 18 months and averaged 47 months. Soft tissue lengthening of the hamstring tendons and release of the posterior capsule with or without femoral osteotomy yielded uniformly excellent results; femoral osteotomy alone produced 40% unsatisfactory results. Based on these data, we no longer recommend osteotomy alone as an effective treatment for fixed knee flexion contractures in children with myelodysplasia.