Feasibility of correction with instrumentation only in congenital scoliosis

Although effective correction of deformity in congenital scoliosis can often be achieved with instrumentation only and without more invasive techniques such as hemivertebrectomy (HV), reports of the feasibility of correction with instrumentation only (IO) are lacking.

To compare the results of deformity correction using IO vs HV and to examine the feasibility of and indications for correction with IO in patients with congenital scoliosis.

Twenty-five patients underwent correction with either IO (n = 14) or HV (n = 11). The 2 patient groups were compared in terms of age at the time of surgery, preoperative magnitude and flexibility of the main curve, correction rates after surgery and at the final follow-up, surgery time, estimated blood loss, and complications.

The 2 groups did not differ significantly in terms of average patient age or curve magnitude, but the correction with the IO group had greater preoperative curve flexibility (37.1%) than the HV group (21.0%). The correction rates immediately after surgery were high in both groups. The correction with IO group had a shorter mean operation time (308 minutes vs 366 minutes) and less blood loss (540 mL vs 1547 mL) than the HV group.

Satisfactory correction of congenital scoliosis can be obtained with IO if there is adequate flexibility in the main curve, thus avoiding the need for more invasive procedures such as HV.