Vascularized fibular epiphyseal transfer. A clinical study.

In a review of the experimental and clinical literature on nonvascularized and vascularized epiphyseal transfer, experience with eight patients with free vascularized fibular epiphyseal transfer suggests that transfer of bone with an open epiphysis offers some potential for growth in either congenital abnormalities or epiphyseal arrest secondary to trauma and infection. In four cases, premature epiphyseal closure prevented appreciable growth. In the other four, the epiphyses remain open and the transferred bones continue to grow. Although the procedure is experimental, the results of combined epiphyseal and metaphyseal vessel transfer with a skin island as a monitor of viability, warrant further investigation.