Clinical and radiological characteristics of forearm deformities in children with multiple hereditary exostoses

Introduction The incidence of forearm deformities in children with multiple hereditary exostoses (MHE) ranges from 30 to 80 %. There are few studies of deformities of the forearm in MHE patients in the literature that describe not only the location of exostoses and position of the head of the radius but also the true variants of forearm deformities. The aim of the study was to investigate forearm bone deformities in patients with multiple hereditary exostoses. Materials and methods Radiographs of the bones of the forearm in 84 patients (151 limbs) diagnosed with multiple hereditary exostoses in the age of four to 17 years who were treated at our institute from 2004 to 2018 were retrospectively analysed. The study involved 47 boys and 37 girls; 67 patients (80 %) had bilateral lesions, and 17 patients (20 %) had lesions of only one upper limb. Patients were divided into four groups depending on the type according to the Jo&Jung's classification. The deformities were evaluated based on radiological methods in accordance with the reference lines and angles for the forearm bones...