Deformity correction surgery realigns a bent, rotated or unequal limb by cutting the bone (osteotomy) and fixing it in a corrected position, either in one step or gradually with an adjustable frame.
It shifts load away from an overloaded part of a joint, improves walking and can delay arthritis. It cannot restore cartilage already lost, and large corrections take many months.
What Deformity Correction Surgery involves
Planning is most of the work. Full length standing X-rays of both legs, and often CT for rotation, are used to measure the mechanical axis and find the apex and size of the deformity. In theatre the bone is cut at the planned level with a saw or with drill holes and an osteotome, protecting nerves and vessels. For acute correction, a wedge is opened or closed, alignment is checked with a rod or navigation on X-ray, and the bone is held with a locking plate or a nail. For gradual correction, a circular or hexapod frame is attached with wires and pins; a computer program then gives a daily schedule of strut adjustments that you carry out at home, usually 1 mm per day, until alignment is reached.
Who is a good candidate for Deformity Correction Surgery?
Suited to people with a measurable bony deformity that causes pain, abnormal gait or joint overload, confirmed on long leg films.
- Bow legs or knock knees with early arthritis on one side of the knee
- Malunited fractures that healed crooked or rotated
- Deformity from childhood growth plate injury, rickets or Blount disease
- Leg length difference of more than about 2 cm combined with angulation
It is usually not the right choice if:
- Advanced arthritis across the whole joint, where replacement is better
- Smokers unwilling to stop, because cut bone heals poorly
- Poor skin, circulation or active infection in the limb
- People unable to manage frame care and frequent follow-up
الخيارات التقنية
- High tibial osteotomy: Opening wedge below the knee for bow legs with inner knee arthritis.
- Distal femoral osteotomy: For knock knee alignment overloading the outer knee.
- Hexapod external fixator: Gradual correction of complex, multi plane deformity or when the skin would not tolerate a sudden change.
- Intramedullary nail with blocking screws: Acute correction in the shaft of a long bone, with internal fixation only.
- Guided growth (eight plate): In growing children, a small plate tethers one side of the growth plate and the limb straightens as it grows.
ماذا يحدث خلال علاجك
Expect 1.5 to 3 hours under general or spinal anaesthetic and 2 to 4 nights in hospital. You are up with crutches the next day. With a frame, nurses teach you pin site cleaning and how to turn the struts before discharge.
الإعداد لرحلتك
Plan for 2 to 3 weeks; frames need repeat visits or local follow-up in Istanbul. Your surgeon reviews photographs and your medical history before you book, and you meet in person the day before surgery for examination, marking and consent with a professional interpreter.
- Stop smoking and nicotine at least four weeks before and after surgery; it is the single biggest avoidable cause of wound problems
- Tell the team about every medicine and supplement you take; blood thinners, some herbal products and hormone treatment may need to be paused on your doctor's advice
- Arrange for someone to travel with you or to be reachable, and keep the first days at home free of work and lifting
- Book a changeable return flight; your surgeon confirms when you are fit to fly
التعافي والنتائج
After a plated osteotomy, partial weight bearing lasts about 6 weeks and bone union takes 3 to 4 months. With a frame, the correction phase lasts weeks, then the frame stays on while new bone hardens, often 3 to 6 months in total, with X-rays every few weeks. Plates can be removed after a year if they irritate.
- Back to everyday activity: 6 to 12 weeks
- When results show: Alignment immediate or over weeks; bone healing 3 to 6 months
- How long they last: Permanent once healed
سياسة السلامة والمخاطر والتنقيح
These are major bone operations and complications are not rare, particularly with frames.
- Delayed union or non-union of the osteotomy
- Pin site infection with external fixators, common but usually settled with antibiotics
- Over or under correction
- Nerve stretch, especially the peroneal nerve with knock knee correction
- Compartment syndrome or blood vessel injury, rare
- Joint stiffness
- Deep vein thrombosis
- Hardware irritation needing removal
Every written proposal arranged through Clinic-Y states what the clinic covers if a correction is needed. Ask for it before you book, not after.
Cost of Deformity Correction Surgery in Türkiye
Clinic-Y does not publish a single price for Deformity Correction Surgery, because the honest figure depends on your case. What moves it:
- Acute plating versus a computer assisted frame
- Number of bones and levels corrected
- Length of hospital stay and number of follow-up visits and X-rays
- Implant removal later
- Whether lengthening is added
Send your photographs or reports and you receive written, all-inclusive proposals from suitable teams, side by side. Reviewing your case is free.
الأسئلة المتكررة
Can frame treatment be done while living abroad?
Only if an orthopaedic team near your home agrees in advance to take X-rays and manage pin sites. Without that, choose an internal fixation option or stay for the whole correction.
Will I need a knee replacement later?
Possibly. A well done osteotomy often delays it by 10 years or more and does not prevent it being done later.
Is it done for cosmetic reasons?
Surgeons are cautious. Operating on painless mild bowing carries real risk for a modest gain, and many will advise against it.