Long-term results of open sternocleidomastoid tenotomy for idiopathic muscular torticollis.

At the end of their skeletal growth, we evaluated the cases of sixty-seven patients who had had an open tenotomy of the sternal and clavicular origins of the sternocleidomastoid muscle for idiopathic muscular torticollis. The average length of follow-up was 15.4 years, and the average age at the last follow-up was 23.9 years. The patients were divided into three groups according to their age at the time of operation. Group I consisted of patients who were operated on between the ages of five months and six years; Group II, of patients who were operated on between the ages of seven and eleven years; and Group III, of patients who were operated on when they were twelve years old or older. According to our method of evaluation, 37 per cent of the patients had a good, 45 per cent had a fair, and 18 per cent had a poor result. The patients in Group I had the best results and those in Group III, the worst. In general, the patient's age at operation, the duration of the disease, and the severity of the deformity before the operation had the major effects on both cosmetic and functional results.