Some operations for paralytic lesion of the hip and knee joints due to spinal cord injury have been reported.
A hip with loss of internal rotation because of incomplete thoracic lesion was treated with Mustard's operation or Sharrard's anterolateral iliopsoas transplantation. Another case suffering from partial cervical lesion was dealt with posterior capsulotomy of the hip and Sharrard's medial hamstring release for remarkable limitted flexion of the joint. Satisfactory effects were attained in these cases.
Restorative operations for range of motion were attempted by excisions of periarticular heterotopic bones around the hip and the knee joints and by Thompson's quadricepsplasty to the stiff knee. Consequent greater flexion of the hip and knee joints made the wheel chair shorter, which means that the handling of the chair became easier and that moving about on unpaved roads became possible. And the patients have expressed their pleasure in being able to get on a car more easily.
