Putative height acceleration following tethered cord release in children

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Neurology
• Spinal Cord Disorders
• Growth and Development

Background:

• Tethered cord (TC) is a neurological condition restricting spinal cord movement, potentially causing various symptoms.
• The impact of TC release on pediatric height has not been previously established.
• TC can manifest with neurological, urological, and orthopedic issues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between tethered cord release surgery and changes in height-for-age percentiles in children.
• To determine if age influences height outcomes after detethering surgery.
• To explore correlations between clinical symptoms, radiographic findings, and postoperative height changes.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 52 pediatric patients undergoing first-time tethered cord release.
• Collection and analysis of pre- and postoperative height, height-for-age percentiles, clinical symptoms, and radiographic findings.
• Stratification of patients by age (younger than 5 years vs. 5-18 years).

Main Results:

• Children experienced a significant increase in age-adjusted height percentiles post-TC release (mean 7-point increase).
• Children aged 5-18 showed a more pronounced height percentile gain (mean 10-point increase), positively scaling with age.
• No significant height difference was observed in children younger than 5; symptom improvement varied by age group.

Conclusions:

• Surgical release of tethered cord is associated with significant height-for-age percentile gains in pediatric patients.
• Older children (≥ 5 years) demonstrate greater height increases after detethering, with gains correlating positively with age.
• Postoperative height changes did not correlate with specific clinical symptoms or radiographic findings in this cohort.