A literature review of the Ilizarov technique and some applications for treating foot pathology.

The Ilizarov technique is a method of stimulating new bone and/or soft tissue growth at the rate of 1 mm per day. This technique was developed in the former Soviet Union in the early 1950s to stimulate limb lengthening, correct malaligned appendicular skeletal deformities, heal nonunions and close soft tissue defects. This procedure has been used in the United States less than 10 years. While Professor Ilizarov recognized that his technique could be used to treat foot pathology such as clubfoot, physicians continue to expand the applications for the Ilizarov procedure in treating complex foot pathologies.