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Orthopedists Treat Serious Early Onset Scoliosis Creatively
CopyFrom: PUMCH UpdateTime: 2019-01-21 Hits: 19 Font Size: SmallBig

      PUMCH orthopedists, after ten-year research and follow-up, led the world in creating a technique “osteotomy with short fusion and dual growing rod” to treat serious rigid early onset scoliosis (EOS). While fully ensuring surgical effects it retained the growth potential of patients, thus reaching world advanced level.

      EOS has always been a headache of spine surgeons worldwide. Traditional operations destroyed the growth potential of the spine, may cause chest deformity and seriously affect lung functions. Therefore the focus has shifted to patient’s physical development, instead of the size and cause of scoliosis. For a >90 degrees EOS, European and American doctors usually will have Halo gravity traction for more than eight weeks to try to reduce the deformity by 20-30 degrees, and, after lung functions are somewhat improved, try operations. But the traction time is long, nursing is difficult, and there is a high chance of complications. And multi-time operations cannot be avoided.

      The PUMCH team led by Professor Zhang Jianguo, in first time operation, carries out osteotomy with short fusion, and corrects the scoliosis by more than 50%, and then plants in dual growing rod to control compensatory scoliosis. This mixed technique can greatly improve orthopedic effects in serious, rigid EOS, and at the same time preserve the growing potential of the spine.

      According to Professor Zhang, they have treated 13 cases with a ten-year follow-up. The average spine growth was 1.23cm a year. And the average correction is from 81.4 degrees to 40.1 degrees, and remained stable. In the cohort, a boy was followed till 12, and he is now around 1.5m. A girl was followed till 17, now more than 1.5m. Long-time follow-up showed that the technique is satisfactory in both its originality and effectiveness, and filled an international blank in treating serious, rigid, congenital scoliosis.

  (Caption)

Patient image: before operation

Patient image: after operation