EVALUATING THE EFFICACY OF SURGICAL INTERVENTIONS IN ENHANCING MOTOR FUNCTION IN CHILDREN WITH CEREBRAL PALSY, ADEN YEMEN

Abstract

Single event multilevel surgery refers to the correction of all orthopaedic deformities in one session. To evaluate the outcomes of Single Event Multi-Level Surgery in children with spastic cerebral palsy. We retrospectively studied all 38 children with cerebral palsy and gait deviations who underwent single-event multilevel surgery between January 2016 and December 2022 in Al-Naqib Hospital, in Aden. Data were presented as mean values with the standard deviation. The chi-square test was used to test for significance. We used SPSS ver. 22 for statistical analysis. Statistical significance was defined as a P-value of < 0.05. Thirty-eight children patients suffering of spastic-type cerebral palsy underwent surgical interventions in enhancing motor function. Single event multilevel surgery procedures performed. The age of patients at surgery ranged from 4–17 years with a mean age of 10.8±4.2 years. Gender distribution was (73.7%) males to (26.3%) females. The affected lower limb represented as predominant in (89.5%) patients. Jump gait was predominant in (79.0%) children and the hemiplegic gait was in (10.5%). Postoperatively at final follow up, the gait pattern was normal in (26.3%) children and near normal in (73.7%) children. Preoperatively, the majority of children were classified at higher levels of motor impairment with (63.2%) children patients categorized as Gross Motor Function Classification System Level II. At the final follow-up, significant improvements were observed in gross motor function. The number of children classified as Gross Motor Function Classification System Level I increased markedly to (65.8%). The number of children in level II decreased to (23.7%). Two children had a superficial wound infection postoperatively. Recurrent hamstring contracted were found in (7.9%) children and at the final follow up, knee pain was found in (21.1%) children. The results of single event multilevel surgery are considered satisfactory with minimal complications.