OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study was to assess the clinical efficacy of arthroscopic treatment strategy in children with congenital muscular torticollis (CMT). METHODS: A retrospective study was carried out in patients diagnosed with CMT from October 2020 to March 2023, of the 98 subjects who met the inclusion criteria, 52 subjects underwent arthroscope-assisted treatment and 46 subjects treated with traditional open operation were recruited for the study. Clinical follow-up evaluation was evaluated using the modified Cheng scoring. Besides, the intraoperative and postoperative complications were recorded. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference regarding gender proportion, surgical treatment age, and affected side (P >
0.05) between the two groups of patients. Besides, the difference on the operation duration between the two groups was not significant (P >
0.05). However, the incision length and postoperative hospitalization time in the arthroscope-assisted group were significantly shorter than those of the traditional open surgery group (P <
0.05). During the follow-up period, the torticollis deformity was effectively corrected and the postoperative scars were almost invisible in the arthroscope-assisted group. Based on the Cheng's scoring system, 50 (96.2 %) patients displayed excellent or good clinical results, and 2 (3.8 %) had fair outcomes in the arthroscope-assisted group, and the mean overall scores was comparable to the open surgery group (P >
0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Within the limitations of the study, arthroscope-assisted minimally invasive treatment represents a promising and effective surgical option for children with CMT.