ABSTRACT
During the 1950s, Gavril Ilizarov, a Russian physician, developed what is now referred to as the Ilizarov method for bone lengthening. The Ilizarov system provides an external fixation frame that allows for gradual correction and was originally directed to lengthening bones in the leg. In the original Ilizarov method, pins were placed through the skin into the bone, bone between the pins was partially cut, and then gradually the pins were pulled apart over a period of several weeks. As a result of a slow expansion, the bone had the opportunity to regenerate, filling in the gradually enlarging gap.
