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Blount's disease

• Overview
• Symptoms
• Treatment
• Prevention

Alternative Names:

Tibia vara

Treatment:

Children who develop severe bowing before the age of 3 may be treated with bracing. If bracing fails, or if bowing is not detected until the child is older, surgery is usually required. Surgery may involve cutting the shin bone (tibia) to realign it, and sometimes lengthen it as well.

Other times, the growth of just the outer half of the tibia can be surgically restricted to allow the child’s natural growth to reverse the bowing process. This second, much smaller surgery is most effective in children with less severe bowing and significant growth remaining.

Expectations (prognosis):

Return to normal function and cosmetic appearance is expected if the knee can be properly aligned.

Complications:

Failure to treat Blount's disease may lead to progressive deformity.

Blount's disease may come back after surgery, especially in younger children.

Because of the bowing, a leg-length discrepancy may result. This may result in disability if the discrepancy is significant (greater than 1 inch) and is not treated.

Calling your health care provider:

Call for an appointment with your child's health care provider if your child's leg or legs appear to be bowing. Also call for an appointment if your child has bowed legs that appear to be getting worse.

• Review Date: 12/4/2006
• Reviewed By: Thomas N. Joseph, MD, Private Practice specializing in Orthopaedics, subspecialty Foot and Ankle, Camden Bone & Joint, Camden, SC. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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