Wednesday, September 26, 2018 7:35 AM–9:00 AM ePosters: P76. Growing rods instrumentation for early-onset spinal deformities at five-year follow-up

BACKGROUND CONTEXT The growing rod (GR) technique is a viable alternative for current nonfusion operations of early-onset scoliosis. Conventional GR rods are lengthened to allow for spinal growth to occur, but rod lengthening requires multiple invasive operations performed under general anaesthesia. Such operations are highly costly and associated with negative psychosocial outcomes. Growing rods with a sliding pedicle screw system (GRSPSS), a newly invented instrumentation, has been developed to treat spinal deformities without the need for repeated operative lengthening. A retrospective review of patients treated by the GRSPSS for early-onset spinal deformity was performed at a >5-year follow-up to describe clinical outcomes caused by this instrumentation. PURPOSE To study the safety and effectiveness of the GRSPSS. STUDY DESIGN/SETTING A retrospective study. PATIENT SAMPLE Eighteen. OUTCOME MEASURES Cobb angle. Complications. METHODS We implanted the GRSPSS in 33 early-onset scoliosis patients, 18 of whom had reached a 5-year follow-up at the time of the study. We used standard, clinical radiographic methods to measure the magnitude of spinal curvature and spinal length. RESULTS Our sample comprised 18 patients (10 girls and 8 boys) with a mean age of 8years old. The mean preoperative curve, 66.8°, was corrected to 28° at 4 weeks' follow-up. This magnitude of correction was maintained at the 5-year follow-up. T1–S1 spinal height [RH1] gained an average of 35 mm from postoperative measurements to those taken at 5-years' follow-up. Complications in the sample population included transient neurological deficit (n=1) and mild, recoverable skin infection at one end of the rods (n=3) during the early postoperative period. Two patients required minimally invasive revision surgery because of shoulder imbalance. There were no other neurological deficits or evidence of implant failure. CONCLUSIONS The GRSPSS procedure can effectively correct spinal deformity at a 5-year follow-up, with an acceptable incidence of complication. This new instrumentation may be a promising approach for facilitating spinal growth without repeated lengthening operations.