A nine-year-old British boy, who was born with a rare condition, has become the first person in the UK to have pioneering surgery to lengthen one of his legs, reports the BBC.
Alfie Phillips has a condition called fibular hemimelia, which caused his right leg to not develop properly, leaving it nearly 3cm shorter than his left, but thanks to the experts at Liverpool’s Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, he has been able to gain 3cm.
Almost a year after the procedure he is now “running around as normal” and enjoys playing basketball, according to his medical team.
Fibular hemimelia affects fewer than one in 40 000 births.
The treatment, a method developed in the United States, involved placing a lengthening nail – known as a motorised telescopic nail – on the surface of Alfie’s femur.
To make the limb longer, a magnetic device was placed on the leg three times a day for a month, which helped the nail slowly pull apart the two bone ends – by around 1mm each day – while the body naturally filled the gap with new bone tissue.
He then underwent weekly physiotherapy sessions and reviews by doctors and specialist nurses until the lengthening process had finished, which took around six weeks.
Alfie continued to have physio until the nail was removed from his leg – about three to four months after the operation.
Although lengthening nails have been fitted inside the bones of adults, the procedure was not previously an option for children because of the risk of damaging the growth plates.
“We know that being able to lengthen internally is less painful and a better experience overall,” said Nick Peterson, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Alder Hey. “But before this technique, it wasn’t available for children.”
Before being referred to Alder Hey in 2024, Alfie’s only option to make his leg longer would have been to have an external fixator fitted.
The youngster spent less than a week in hospital, and healed really well, said the team.
Although he may need further lengthening treatment on his shin bone in the future, Peterson added that his experience for his age has been “vastly superior to what it would have been”.
Specialists at Alder Hey measured the difference at 4cm, and projected it would increase to 6cm by the time Alfie was fully grown at around 16.
The hospital has since performed the technique on three other children with fibular hemimelia, and other specialist centres around the country are preparing to do the same.
Peterson said the case “paves the way for this technique to replace that old-fashioned way of doing things”.
BBC article – Boy first in UK to have pioneering leg-lengthening surgery (Open access)
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