Epiphysiodesis is a Pediatric surgical procedure in which the epiphyseal (growth) plate

Epiphyseal plate

The epiphyseal plate is a hyaline cartilage plate in the metaphysis at each end of a long bone...

of a bone is either removed, or a cube containing part of it rotated 90° and reinserted.

This procedure is used to:

• Lengthen an abnormally short leg
• Shorten an abnormally long leg
• Limit growth of a normal leg to allow a short leg to grow to a matching length This can incorporate a bone graft as described above to produce fusion of the epiphysis or premature cessation of the epiphyseal plate's growth.

The epiphysis can be removed in one of the bone's ends to slow down the growth, or in both ends to stop growth of that bone completely.

Limitations

The surgery must also be carefully planned with regard to timing (as some types of epiphysiodesis are non-reversible, while some other epiphysiodeses, though meant to be reversible or temporary, may end up being definitive, either by choice or not), so that the limbs are at near-equal length at end of growth — e.g. perform the procedure during the last adolescent growth spurt.