Recent Publication on Anterior Vertebral Body Tethering (AVBT) Compared with Posterior Spinal Fusion for Major Thoracic Curves: A Retrospective Comparison by the Harms Study Group
Study Cohort: Thoracic Idiopathic Scoliosis patients who underwent Anterior Vertebral Body Tethering (AVBT) with minimum 2-year follow-up after surgery and propensity matched to Posterior Spinal Fusion (PSF) patients from Harms Study Group multicenter database. 237 AVBT patients (thoracic curve tethered only) vs. 237 PSF patients Propensity matched using: age, preoperative thoracic curve magnitude, sex, and […]
Recent Publication on Magnetically-Controlled Growing Rods
Growing Rod Constructs for Patients with Neuromuscular Scoliosis
This talk was presented at the International Pediatric Orthopaedic Symposium in Orlando, Florida last November 2022. My topic was to talk on patients with neuromuscular scoliosis (NMS) who were less than 8 years of age, presenting the argument to do Growing Rod (GR) surgeries, instead of performing a Posterior Spinal Fusion (PSF). My opponent was […]
Talking Points about Thoracic Vertebral Body Tethering vs. ApiFix
Vertebral Body Tethering (VBT) and the ApiFix device are procedures which have garnered a lot of attention from surgeons, patients and families. Below is a list of talking points which should be known about VBT and ApiFix so there can be informative, educated, transparent discussions about VBT and ApiFix, when compared to the other commonly-performed […]
Use of Magnetically-Controlled (MAGEC) Growing Rods in Neuromuscular Scoliosis
In past blog posts we have presented Magnetically-Controlled (MAGEC) Growing Rods. 1) There was the three-part series on the following dates: 3-9-2017 MAGEC: Part 1 5-3-2017 MAGEC: Part 2 5-18-2017 MAGEC: Part 3 2) On 11-28-2021 a study on the use of MAGEC vs. Posterior Spinal Fusion vs. Vertebral Body Tethering in 8-11 year […]
Posterior Spinal Fusion for Thoracic Scheuermann’s Kyphosis
Two blog posts ago the topic of thoracic Scheuermann’s Kyphosis (SK) was presented, stopping short of discussing the surgical treatment. In this post we will show a patient who underwent correction of his SK using posterior column osteotomies (see blog post from 9-6-2020) and posterior spinal fusion (see blog post from 1-16-2022). The two […]
Published study in Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery: Trunk Motion of Vertebral Body Tethering vs. Posterior Spinal Fusion
This was a study of trunk (back) motion from the Philadelphia Shriners hospital by a previous spine fellow from Washington University, Dr. Joshua Pahys. This elegant study used a motion analysis lab to quantify back motion between two groups of patients: 1) 65 patients having undergone Vertebral Body Tethering (VBT), and 2) 47 patients who […]
Thoracic Scheuermann’s Kyphosis
What is thoracic kyphosis? From the side the human spine is wavy, unlike the view from the front in which it should be straight. The only part of the spine with kyphosis is the thoracic spine, the cervical and lumbar spine are in lordosis. How much thoracic kyphosis is normal? In general normal kyphosis is […]
Decision Making, Early-Onset Scoliosis, Growth Guidance Surgery, Magnetically-Controlled Growing Rods
Talking Points for Early-Onset Scoliosis Patients: Magnetically-Controlled Growing Rods vs. Shilla Growth-Guidance
In the surgical treatment of Early-Onset Scoliosis (EOS) the options boil down to two main constructs: Distraction-Based: this encompasses both Traditional Growing Rods (TGR) and Magnetically-Controlled Growing Rods (MCGR) Growth-Guidance: this is also called the “Shilla Procedure” We will not go into detail about these two spine constructs, but ask you go […]
Blood Management During Spine Deformity Surgery
In 2022, spine deformity surgery usually requires a long incision and temporary retraction of muscles from the spine. This extensive exposure of the spine helps to loosen up the spine (to get better correction), insert pedicle screws to grip the spine and place the long rods, which moves the spine in space and maintains the […]