Arm lengthening
A arm lengthening case at the Dr. Donghoon institute (DALRI), Korea (PRECICE · 20 months post-op), with 6 before and after radiographs.
- Category
- Arm lengthening
- Gained
- —
- Height
- —
- Follow-up
- 20 months
Drag the handle to compare before and after (arrow keys work too). Before and after arm lengthening, case 18471704, image 2, Dr. Donghoon institute (DALRI)
About this case
This patient was treated in the arm, foot & ankle group (arm lengthening) at the Dr. Donghoon institute (DALRI) in Seoul.
This is an alignment or limb-length correction, so the source record carries no centimetre gain; the result is read from the mechanical axis on the radiographs instead.
The series on this page contains 6 images, in the order the hospital published them.
Technique and segment
PRECICE is a fully internal magnetically driven nail: there are no pin sites to care for, which means less pain and a faster return to daily life, but it carries limits on body weight and on the maximum length per segment.
Timeline and how to read the radiographs
In deformity-correction cases the distraction phase is shorter than in height cases, because the goal is realignment rather than distance gained.
This series was taken 20 months after surgery. The regenerate is fully consolidated, and this is the window in which hardware removal is considered.
Daily physiotherapy through the distraction phase is the single strongest predictor of the result: patients who stop stretching run into joint stiffness far more often than into problems with the bone itself.
All images are published by the Dr. Donghoon institute (DALRI) and shown with permission. Individual results vary; these cases are not a guarantee of outcome.
