ArticleChildren (Basel, Switzerland)2026
Phenotypic Spectrum and Limb-Length Discrepancy in Congenital Lower Limb Deficiencies: A Tertiary Care Center Experience.
Article in Children (Basel, Switzerland), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND/
objectivesCongenital lower-limb deficiencies, including proximal femoral focal deficiency (PFFD), fibular hemimelia (FH), and tibial hemimelia (TH), are rare, phenotypically heterogeneous disorders with important implications for reconstructive planning. However, phenotypic data remain limited. This study aimed to characterize the clinical and radiological spectrum of these deficiencies and evaluate associated anomalies and limb-length discrepancy (LLD) across diagnostic groups. MATERIALS AND
methodsA retrospective cohort study included all patients diagnosed with PFFD, FH, or TH at a tertiary referral center between January 2021 and December 2025. Demographic, clinical, and radiographic data were extracted from electronic medical records. Patients were classified using established systems, and associated anomalies, distal morphology, laterality, and LLD were evaluated. Descriptive statistics and exploratory non-parametric comparisons across diagnostic groups were performed.
resultsA total of 143 patients were included: 91 (63.6%) with PFFD, 23 (16.1%) with FH, 10 (7.0%) with TH, 18 (12.6%) with combined PFFD + FH, and 1 (0.7%) with combined PFFD + TH. Isolated PFFD was predominantly unilateral and clustered within the milder spectrum, most commonly Paley type 1a and Aitken type A. In contrast, FH was dominated by the severe Paley type 3b phenotype, whereas TH showed marked classification heterogeneity. Upper-limb anomalies were more common in FH and TH than in isolated PFFD. LLD differed significantly among diagnostic groups (
conclusionsCongenital lower-limb deficiencies are highly heterogeneous, with combined deficiencies exhibiting greater LLD and anomaly burden. These findings provide structured regional data to support classification and reconstructive planning.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.