Patients with osteogenesis imperfecta who have undergone multiple
osteotomies with realignment and intramedullary rod fixation of a deformed
bone frequently require replacement of the rod because the bone grows and
angulates when the rod no longer is long enough to support the bone from
metaphysis to metaphysis. The Bailey-Dubow intramedullary rod, which
elongates with growth, is an attempt to solve this problem. This is a
review of 153 rod-fixations in seventy-two bones (twenty patients),
forty-seven being Bailey-Dubow rods. Use of the elongating rod effectively
increased the average length of time between replacement operations,
yielded a lower removal rate, and showed no additional adverse effects. The
Bailey-Dubow rod represents a measurable improvement over non-elongating
rods.