1. Paper #1 a. Bouton D, Karol L, Poppino K, Johnson C. Continued deterioration in pulmonary function at a minimum 18-year follow-up from early thoracic fusion in non-neuromuscular patients. b. Conclusion: Patients with thoracic spinal fusion at a very young age (mean 2.7 years) have a continued decline in pulmonary function (38% of normal) as […]
Year: 2017
Vertebral Body Tethering Part 2
As mentioned in the last blog there is a paucity of information/evidence on the use of VBT in skeletally-immature patients with scoliosis. Animal studies have demonstrated VBTs can modulate spinal growth with few changes to the intervertebral disc or growth plates. Early, short-term, single institution series have been encouraging with few reported serious complications. More […]
Trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico
Recently was in San Juan, Puerto Rico teaching surgeons about early-onset scoliosis and the use of the MAGEC system. I had the opportunity to meet the attending pediatric orthopaedic surgeons Drs. Humberto Guzman, Pablo Marrero, Gladys Ramos, Onix Reyes, and Lissette Salgueiro. Also in attendance was the upcoming complex spine deformity fellow at Columbia University […]
Vertebral Body Tethering for Scoliosis
Since the first description of spinal fusions for the treatment of scoliosis over 100 years ago, there have been significant advancements in the surgical technique, which have led to improved fusion rates, lower complication frequency, greater three-dimensional correction of the deformity and more rapid postoperative recovery. However, spine fusions mean fewer motion segments (less spine […]
MAGEC (Part 3)
Follow-up on the reported complications of the MAGEC device. In the last blog post three modes of failure of this device were described: rod breakage, actuator pin breakage (inside the device) and rod breakage. It should be noted that with traditional growing rods, breakage of the rods is a common occurrence, so this problem is […]
MAGEC (Part 2)
In the last posting the MAGEC system for Early Onset Scoliosis was introduced. This system is a significant improvement when compared to Traditional Growing Rods, mainly due to the ability to lengthen the instrumentation without the need for anesthesia or a trip to the operating room. The benefits of this device are easy to see, […]
MAGEC Growing Rods (Part 1)
In the last blog we talked about Growing Rods for the treatment of EOS. The major downside to this treatment method is the need for repetitive anesthesia and open lengthening of the growing rods in the operating room. Over the last 5 years there has been a number of studies assessing the impact of repetitive […]
Growing Rods
As mentioned in earlier blogs, nonsurgical management of early-onset scoliosis (EOS), which can consist of bracing, casting, observation, and physical therapy is usually the primary treatment, especially for mild/moderate curve with no or mild progression. Surgery for EOS is reserved for patients whose deformities are severe and/or progressive, and cannot be or have not been […]