Fifty-six cases seen consecutively in a young adult physically handicapped clinic were assessed with regard to their mobility. In addition an attempt was made to review the long term outcome of lower limb orthopaedic operations in these patients with physical handicap. The patients were subdivided into four groups and it was found that in three of the groups, patients who could only walk with a walking aid or who were wheelchair bound had had more surgical procedures than those who walked independently in adulthood. As problems in the young adult physically handicapped patients are defined so further work will be required to determine the best way they should be treated.
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