Bilateral Bicondylar Osteochondritis Dissecans in a Child with Spastic Diplegia and Crouch Gait: A Case Report

JBJS Case Connect. 2018 Apr-Jun;8(2):e41. doi: 10.2106/JBJS.CC.17.00271.

Abstract

Case: The cause of osteochondritis dissecans is unknown. Various hypotheses suggest mechanical, ischemic, and hereditary causes. We describe a 13-year-old girl with spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy, who had an associated crouch gait and presented with bilateral osteochondral defects of the medial and lateral femoral condyles.

Conclusion: This case highlights the potential role of repetitive microtrauma, likely due to the poor biomechanical forces in a crouch gait, and provides support for a mechanical cause of osteochondritis dissecans.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Cerebral Palsy / complications*
  • Female
  • Gait Disorders, Neurologic / complications*
  • Humans
  • Knee Joint / diagnostic imaging
  • Knee Joint / pathology
  • Knee Joint / physiopathology
  • Knee Joint / surgery
  • Osteoarthritis, Knee*
  • Osteochondritis Dissecans*