This version was machine-translated from German and has not been medically reviewed. The authoritative version is the German version.
Epiphysiodesis – timing
Arithmetic method (Menelaus/White: 9.5 mm/year distal femur, 6.4 mm/year proximal tibia) and multiplier method
Calculation aid for healthcare professionals: the calculator reproduces what the sources cited assign to the inputs. Clinical assessment and every treatment decision remain with the treating physician. Inputs and results are not stored.
Frequently asked questions
Epiphysiodesis – timing: What does this calculator compute?
Calculates when an epiphysiodesis (distal femur, proximal tibia or both) will offset an expected leg length discrepancy by skeletal maturity – by the arithmetic method (end of growth 16 years boys, 14 years girls; 3/8 or 1/4 inches per year) and by the multiplier method of Paley (remaining growth of the plates from segment length and multiplier).
Epiphysiodesis – timing: Which sources is this calculator based on?
Paley D, Bhave A, Herzenberg JE, Bowen JR: Multiplier method for predicting limb-length discrepancy (J Bone Joint Surg Am 82:1432–1446) (2000); Mills G, Nelson SC: An improved spreadsheet for calculating limb length discrepancy and epiphysiodesis timing using the multiplier method (J Child Orthop 10:313–319) (2016); Menelaus MB: Correction of leg length discrepancy by epiphysial arrest (J Bone Joint Surg Br 48:336–339) (1966); Hubbard EW, Liu RW, Iobst CA: Understanding Skeletal Growth and Predicting Limb-Length Inequality in Pediatric Patients (J Am Acad Orthop Surg 27:312–319) (2019); Aird JJ, Cheesman CL, Schade AT, Monsell FP: Validation of the multiplier method for leg-length predictions on a large European cohort and an assessment of the effect of physiological age on predictions (J Child Orthop 11:71–76) (2017)