International Journal of Research in Orthopaedics | March-April 2023 | Vol 9 | Issue 2 Page 432
International Journal of Research in Orthopaedics
Agarwal A et al. Int J Res Orthop. 2023 Mar;9(2):432-434
http://www.ijoro.org
Case Report
Modified dual osteotomy for Madelung’s deformity
Aditya Agarwal
1
, Rahul Patel
1
*, Mohit Jain
1
, Shubham Arora
1
, Paresh Golwala
1
,
Srishty Agarwal
2
INTRODUCTION
Madelung’s deformity of the wrist was first described by
Otto Madelung in 1878 and includes a spectrum of
deformities causing the shortening of one or both bones of
the forearm. It is seen mainly in the age group of 8 to 14
years, more common in females (4:1), and is often
bilateral. The exact etiology of this deformity is not
known. However, Herry and Thorburn have divided it into
four different groups: 1) Idiopathic or primary 2)
secondary to trauma, infection or tumor 3) dysplastic
conditions like Ollier’s disease 4) genetic conditions like
turner syndrome.
1
Furthermore, typical Madelung’s deformity can be
identified from others by the presence of the “Vickers”
ligament, an abnormally short, volar, radioulnar ligament,
which interferes with distal radioulnar growth leading to
increased volar tilt and increased inclination of radial
articulation surface. This positive ulnar variance
makes painful wrist joint movement, which is the major
cause of presentation.
Many cases have been published of typical Madelung’s
deformities, but very few have been published on
Madelung’s like deformities. We have performed a dual
osteotomy of the radius and ulna with periosteal
preservation and fixation subsequently in a 9-year-old
male child in a case of Madelung’s type of deformity, who
presented to us with a complaint of pain and deformity in
the left forearm.
CASE REPORT
A 9-year-old male child presented to our department with
complaints of chronic pain and deformity of the left wrist
and forearm, aggravated during activity. On further
evaluation, the patient also had bony swelling on the ulnar
aspect of his left wrist. He also had similar bony swelling
arising on the medial aspect of the proximal tibia. There
is no history of trauma or any relevant family history
noted. Physical examination revealed ulnar deviation of
the left hand with reduced grip strength. Extension/flexion
of both wrists was about 65/80 degrees. Pronation and
supination were 80/80 degrees.
ABSTRACT
Madelung’s deformity is one of the rare congenital deformities of the forearm and wrist, typically seen as positive ulnar
variance and increased volar tilt due to the “Vickers” ligament. Different corrective surgical methods for this have been
done in the literature. In this case of a 9-year-old Madelung’s like deformity, we have performed a modified dual
osteotomy with periosteal preservation allowing natural articulation and bone to be modified, especially in a younger
child. This article gives the surgical option to orthopedics for the future, especially in a younger child with severe
deformity. This is a level V evidence-based therapeutic study.
Keywords: Madelung’s deformity, Congenital hand deformity, Osteotomy, Newer modality
1
Department of Orthopedics, Sumandeep Vidhyapeeth, Vadodara, Gujarat, India
2
New civil hospital, Surat, Gujarat, India
Received: 27 October 2022
Revised: 19 December 2022
Accepted: 17 January 2023
*Correspondence:
Dr. Rahul Patel,
E-mail: drrnportho@gmail.com
Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under
the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18203/issn.2455-4510.IntJResOrthop20230476