Modified French osteotomy of humerus for post traumatic cubitus varus

Background: The cubitus varus is the most common long term complication of the supra-condylar fractures of the humerus in children .Though the deformity is considered to be more of cosmetic in nature, recent studies have also described an associated morbidity .In the past the incidence of the cubitus varus following the supra condylar fractures ranged from 9% to 58%.However with the use of the modern methods of management of the fractures, the incidence has decreased. Several methods of correction of the cubitus varus have been in vogue. They differ mostly in their approach and the methods of fixation. Objective: To evaluate the modified French osteotomy technique. Methods: 14 patients in the age group of 7 and 23 were operated for correction of cubitus varus deformity, at a primary orthopedic care hospital in rural Telangana and followed up for mean period 2.4 years. We used a slight modification of the modified French technique and found it to be of advantage in our series. Results: Our results were graded as per the functional grading used by Bellimore.79% of our patients showed excellent results. Our results compare favorably with the results from the other series. Conclusion: The modified French osteotomy is simple safest and most stable osteotomy which can be performed by orthopedic surgeons with the basic knowledge of the patho-anatomy and biomechanics of the deformity, with favorable and comparable results.