My niece was operated on for Blount's disease when she was much younger. Now, one leg is shorter than the other (the bad leg) and she has a lot of back pain and stuff. Does that mean that the surgery was messed up somehow? I don't call it a success.

One method of treating Blount's disease, tibia vara, is through surgery. Blount's disease causes the tibia (shin bone) to bend, causing a bowlegged look. Unfortunately, without intervention, Blount's disease doesn't get better and can get worse.

Surgery involves a few different techniques, but the gist of it is part of the damaged bone is removed, and the bone is straightened and fastened in a more acceptable way. One of the problems with surgery is that the missing part of the bone and the growth of the bone can affect leg length, and cause uneven legs in the long run. This isn't a failure of the surgery but an unfortunate complication.