[Spastic knee flexion deformity. Results of surgical treatment].

The records of 36 children who had been treated surgically for spastic knee flexion deformity were studied. The procedures were either a modified Eggers' operation, a lowering of the patella or a combination of both. Thirty-three children were reviewed at a distance and a comparison made between their initial and final function. The results were also assessed in relation to the state of the muscles and the length of follow-up. Many patients were improved but this improvement could not reasonably be expected except in those who could walk or in whom walking had been abandoned for a short time. The indications for the type of procedure should follow systematic examination by a medical and surgical team, taking account of the strength of the gluteus maximus and the quadriceps and the response to novocaine infiltration of the sciatic nerve.