[Femoral anterotorsion]

Children who have excessive medial torsion of the femur walk with their knees and feet "turned inwards". This abnormality is very frequent between the ages of 3 and 6 years and spontaneously disappears with growth in 90 p. 100 of the cases. This reassuring finding represents, in fact, very different changes. In only 10 p. 100 of the cases the child's gait becomes normal after anatomical normalization of the anterversion; in all other cases an improvement is obtained by subjacent compensation (foot, tibial torsion, laxity of knee rotation). Surgical treatment (femoral rotation osteotomy) is performed at the end of growth (14 years) in children with severe functional impairment due to persistence of the initial abnormality.