At the end of their skeletal growth, we evaluated the cases of
sixty-seven patients who had had an open tenotomy of the sternal and
clavicular origins of the sternocleidomastoid muscle for idiopathic
muscular torticollis. The average length of follow-up was 15.4 years, and
the average age at the last follow-up was 23.9 years. The patients were
divided into three groups according to their age at the time of operation.
Group I consisted of patients who were operated on between the ages of five
months and six years; Group II, of patients who were operated on between
the ages of seven and eleven years; and Group III, of patients who were
operated on when they were twelve years old or older. According to our
method of evaluation, 37 per cent of the patients had a good, 45 per cent
had a fair, and 18 per cent had a poor result. The patients in Group I had
the best results and those in Group III, the worst. In general, the
patient's age at operation, the duration of the disease, and the severity
of the deformity before the operation had the major effects on both
cosmetic and functional results.