- Improve knee's ability to straighten (extension)
- Improve knee position when a child walks with their knees bent (flexion)
- Improve seating when very tight
Your child's surgeon will make a cut at the back of the thigh, above the knee.
Cuts are then made in desired muscle(s) to create lengthening (gracilis, semimembranosus, semitendinosus).
![Diagram of the back of the leg showing the medial hamstrings](/Orthopaedics-Site/PublishingImages/hamstringlengthening5.JPG)
![Diagram of the back of the thigh and kness showing the medial hamstrings](/Orthopaedics-Site/PublishingImages/hamstringlengthening7.JPG)
(Illustrations by Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare)