[Knee-bending and -stretching-spastic in infant cerebral palsy. Surgery aimed at functional improvement and its...

Any treatment of disorders of the knee in patients with cerebral palsy is a complex task in terms of indications and surgical technique. Surgical management has the potential to considerably improve function in walkers as well as tetraparetic patients. The close functional relationship between the knee joint and the adjacent hip and ankle joints requires an integrated view. An increased anterior pelvic tilt aggravates any shortening of the hamstring muscles. An equinus foot deformity increases knee extensor movement. When evaluating postoperative results, it is never sufficient to indicate the postoperative range of motion only. Instead, functional evaluation criteria complemented by instrumented gait analysis must be used to define the results more quickly and to uncover postoperative problems.