Therapeutic effect of intramedullary reaming and nailing for long bones lengthening in children with Ollier disease and Maffucci syndrome on enchondromas: multicentric retrospective case series.

Introduction: Leg length discrepancy (LLD) and malalignment of long bones are frequent orthopedic problems encountered in Maffucci syndrome and Ollier disease (OD). Orthopedic surgeons used historically external fixators to address the deformities. In this multicentric case series, we propose the use of motorized intramedullary nails.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed for 9 years, in four different centers, patients with OD and Maffucci's syndrome that had lengthening nails for LLD with or without associated deformities. The minimum follow-up period was 24 months. We reported complications, clinical tolerance of lengthening, lengthening rate and target, bone healing index, and EQ-5D-Y functional and visual analog scores (VAS). We also saw on X-rays the whole lengthened bone and its regenerate zone to assess the evolution of the enchondromas.

Results: we used the nailing technique in 8 femurs and 2 tibias in 8 patients (mean age: 13.3 years, range: 11-16, mean follow-up time: 53.8 months, range: 26-108). The mean correction amount was 6.44 cm for the femur over 76.8 days and 3.75 cm over 44 days for the tibia with a mean VAS score of 6.63/15 and mean EQ-5D-Y of 81/100. The lengthening goal was achieved in all patients. No mechanical complications were noted. The medullary canal of the operated bones showed improvement and healing in 8 out of 10 segments.

Discussion: Besides achieving the goals of surgery with good functional outcomes, lengthening nails has a therapeutic effect on enchondromas with fewer complications than traditional correction methods.