Extract
Congenital posteromedial bowing of the tibia and fibula, in which
both bones are medially and posteriorly bowed at either the middle or distal
third of the shaft, is an uncommon anomaly of unknown etiology and
pathogenesis1-3.
A calcaneovalgus alignment of the ipsilateral foot usually
coexists1-6.
Although the angular deformities spontaneously resolve with growth, residual
shortening (3 to 7 cm) of the tibia and fibula is typically present by
skeletal
maturity1,3,5-8.The pathogenesis of congenital posteromedial bowing is poorly understood.
To the best of our knowledge, no description of the morphological changes in
the tibia and fibula has been reported in the literature. We report the
pathological findings in the tibia and fibula of a fetus with congenital
posteromedial bowing of the tibia and fibula, which was legally aborted during
the twenty-fourth week of gestation. We propose a possible relationship
between these findings and the etiology of this deformity.