A Review of Precice Intramedullary Limb Lengthening (IMLL) System for Limb Lengthening Procedures in Children.

December 16, 2025 updated by: NuVasive

A Retrospective Review of Clinical and Radiographic Outcomes Following the Use of the Precice Intramedullary Limb Lengthening (IMLL) System in Pediatric Limb Lengthening Procedures

This study will look at how safe and effective limb lengthening surgeries are for the femur and tibia in children 12 years old and younger. We will examine any complications from the surgery, the results of X-rays, and feedback from patients. The study will involve the Precice Intramedullary Limb Lengthening (IMLL) System and external fixator devices for limb lengthening.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Enrolling by invitation

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

As a retrospective chart review, all patients involved in this study will have undergone surgery for their limb length discrepancy according to the standard of care of the practitioner using either the Precice IMLL or an external fixator. Under this protocol, available patient outcomes, plain radiographs, and complications will be obtained from the existing medical records of all eligible index surgeries. An index surgery is defined as the first limb lengthening surgery performed by a study investigator on the index bone with either the Precice IMLL or an external fixator. Each patient may have up to 4 eligible index surgeries (right and left femur, right and left tibia) and be included in both the Precice IMLL and external fixator groups.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
200

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Florida
      • West Palm Beach, Florida, United States, 33407
        • Paley Institute

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Pediatric (12 years and under) population

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • All potential index surgeries must meet the inclusion criteria below in order to be considered for enrollment:

    1. Patient was 12 years of age or younger at the time of the index surgery.
    2. Diagnosis of femoral or tibial limb length discrepancy greater than or equal to 2.0 cm.
    3. Limb length discrepancy secondary to congenital or acquired etiologies.
    4. Patients received limb lengthening treatment of the femur or tibia with the Precice IMLL System or an external fixator limb lengthening device.
    5. Minimum medullary canal diameter ≥6 mm in the treated bone - Precice IMLL System treatment group only.
    6. Closed or nonfunctioning physeal growth plates in the treated bone - Precice IMLL System treatment group only.
    7. Minimum of 12 months of follow-up.
    8. Available medical and radiographic records preoperatively through consolidation.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Index surgeries will be excluded from consideration for the study if they meet any of the following criteria:

    1. Patients with unresolved limb lengthening-related adjacent joint contractures (loss of range of motion), subluxation, or dislocation prior to the index surgical procedure.
    2. Patients with uncorrected coronal or sagittal plane angular malalignment following the index surgical procedure.
    3. Patients with unresolved complications related to previous limb lengthening on the index or different limbs, including unhealed pin sites and/or residual bone infection (from external fixator devices) on the index limb.
    4. Patients with femoral head osteonecrosis from a previous implantation of a femoral nail prior to the index surgical procedure.
    5. Patients with a previous implantation of a femoral or tibial nail across an open physeal growth plate prior to the index surgical procedure.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Precice IMLL System
Patients 12 years of age or younger received Precice IMLL for correction of limb length discrepancy.
Device: Intramedullary Limb Lengthening Device
The Precice IMLL System is composed of the Precice nail, screws, and uses an external remote controller (ERC) for rod distraction. The Precice IMLL System is designed to fit the anatomy of long bones and is intended to be placed internally in an intramedullary manner. It achieves limb correction through gradual lengthening or compression and providing intramedullary fixation for fractures of long bones.
External Fixator
Patients 12 years of age or younger received an external fixator for correction of limb length discrepancy.
Device: External Fixator Limb Lengthening Device
External fixator devices consist of an external frame (ring, half-ring, monolateral, and rail); bone fixation is accomplished by the transcutaneous bone fixations implants (pins, wires, cables, screws), and the lengthening is accomplished by the vertical components (struts). Generally, femoral lengthening devices are monolateral and tibial lengthening devices have ring or half-ring frames. The external fixators are made of a variety of materials, including stainless steel, titanium, carbon fiber, and aluminum.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Bone (femur or tibia) lengthening
Time Frame: At least 1 yr post-op
Achievement of targeted limb length
At least 1 yr post-op
Osteotomy Healing
Time Frame: At least 1 yr post-op

Assessment of osteotomy healing using the following descriptors:

  • Premature healing: Defined as osteotomy healing before the target length is achieved.
  • Healed (consolidated): Defined as the presence of full corticalization (ossified) of regenerate bone of three of four cortices seen on AP and lateral radiographs.
  • Delayed union (consolidation): Defined as bone union taking greater than 6 months but with progressive improvement on radiographs and the osteotomy eventually healed.
  • Partial union (consolidation): Defined as incomplete bone healing, i.e., radiographic healing at only 1 or 2 cortices on AP and lateral views.
  • Nonunion (pseudarthrosis): Defined as lack of complete healing within 6 months of the end of the lengthening period.
At least 1 yr post-op
Frequency of device related complications
Time Frame: Post-op through at least 1 year post-op
Review of investigator-reported device-related complications
Post-op through at least 1 year post-op

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
NuVasive

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Study Director: Kyle Malone, Globus Medical

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
March 13, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
July 30, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
November 7, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
December 2, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
December 3, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
December 22, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
December 16, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • NUVA.ILL0723

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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