Doctors' Evaluations and Results

*All the testing showed that the surgery last fall on the nerves in Zeke's spine did exactly what it was supposed to. The tightness of his leg muscles isn't there anymore. *The tests that show how much energy he has to exert to walk have shown a significant decrease. That means it doesn't take nearly as much energy for Zeke to walk/run as it used to. *His range of motion is good. That means his muscles allow him to move into different positions much more easily than before. *Zeke will need to have surgery to correct some of the bone issues that continue to make it difficult for him to walk well. The more we can correct for him as a child, the fewer issues he will have as an adolescent and adult. ................ SURGERY Zeke will go back to St Paul in the fall of Aug 2010 for another gait analysis. This way they have 3 comparisons and can make sure they are correcting through surgery only what really needs to be corrected. . In Oct 2010, Zeke will have surgery in St Paul at Gillette Children’s Hospital. The surgeons will perform multiple surgeries at the same time. It sounds like his actual hospital stay should only be about 5 days this time but he’ll probably come home with a half-body cast for 6 weeks or so. What Will Be Done *Proximal Femoral Osteotomy – Surgery on the upper thighbone to correct it’s positioning and alignment. This will prevent his knees from rotating inward. *Tibial Derotational Osteotomy – Surgery just above the ankle. The tibia is cut and rotated to the proper alignment. This will correct an abnormal twist in the shinbone that is currently preventing his foot and knee from aligning properly. It should give him a better chance of maintaining an upright body position and the ability to push off with power when walking. *Calcaneal Lengthening - This helps to correct Zeke’s flat feet by cutting the heel bone and inserting a bone graft and lengthening the tendon to improve alignment. This will reduce or alleviate crouching and give Zeke more power when walking. *Medial Cuneiform Osteotomy – The surgeon cuts and realigns the bone in the arch of the foot. It corrects a forefoot deformity by uniformly distributing weight on the front of the foot. *Posterior Tibialis Lengthening – This surgery balances the muscles that control motion in the back and middle of the foot. The surgeon splits the tendon upward above the ankle, routes the detached half to a new position and secures it to the bone.