Surgical management of thoracic kyphosis in adolescents

Twenty-seven patients of a group of twenty-nine who underwent posterior spine fusion using Harrington compression instrumentation for Scheuermann's disease or postural roundback deformity were reviewed with a mean follow-up of 27.6 months. The mean curve before operation was 72 degrees and at review, 46.1 degrees. The mean loss of correction in the fusion from initial examination to final follow-up was 5.7 degrees. This procedure can achieve satisfactory correction of deformity as well as pain relief. We think that Harrington compression instrumentation and spine fusion is indicated in selected cases of roundback deformity.