Malunion of recurrent fractures in Osteogenesis Imperfecta
(OI) patients causes limb length discrepancy and
malrotation. These cause added difficulty for OI patients to
ambulate. Lengthening with distraction osteogenesis using
an external fixator in OI patients is challenging. Acute
lengthening with autologous bone graft is a known method in
a normal bone but not a known procedure in OI patients. We
present two clinic cases of adolescent OI patients with limb
length discrepancy and externally rotated lower limb that
underwent acute lengthening and rotational correction using
a locked intramedullary nail and ipsilateral autologous iliac
bone graft. Both patients obtained union and improvement of
ambulatory capability without recurrence of fracture within
five years of follow-up. Acute lengthening by 2cm and
rotational correction with intramedullary nail improved the
gait efficiency in the OI patients. Harvesting large amounts
of the tricortical iliac bone graft, followed by controlled
weight-bearing is a safe procedure.