[Sternocleidomastoid muscle lengthening for the cure of muscular torticollis].

A Z-plasty was designed to lengthen the sternocleidomastoid muscle for the treatment of muscular torticollis. Since September 1990, forty-nine patients (36 males, 13 females) have been treated. Their age ranged from 2 to 22 years old. Follow-up of there months to three years showed 95.9% of them were good results. The paper not only described the operative procedure, indications, choice of anaesthesia. postoperative functional exercise and the application of neck splint, but also emphasized the aesthetic effect to the operation.