This was posted on another Scoliosis Site and I thought the study was very interesting. AH Crawford is a doctor who saw my son when he was initially diagnosed and described to me as a "specialist" in scoliosis.
Spine. 2005 May 15;30(10):1148-53. Related Articles, Links
Endoscopic mechanical spinal hemiepiphysiodesis modifies spine growth.
Wall EJ, Bylski-Austrow DI, Kolata RJ, Crawford AH.
Children's Hospital Medical Center and The University of Cincinnati
College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
STUDY DESIGN: An in vivo porcine model of progressive scoliosis as an
inverse analog of a proposed method of early surgical treatment.
OBJECTIVES: To test the hypothesis that scoliotic curvatures may be
repeatedly created using anatomically based vertebral staples and
thoracoscopic surgical procedures. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Staple
hemiepiphysiodesis is an established method for treating knee
deformities. Similar procedures have so far failed to arrest or
correct deformities of the spine. While experimental studies continue
to suggest that spine growth is modifiable, no prior clinically
translatable method has been shown to clearly and consistently alter
vertebral growth. METHODS: Custom spine staples were implanted into
midthoracic vertebrae of seven skeletally immature normal pigs. Each
staple spanned an intervertebral disc and two growth plates and was
fixed to adjacent vertebrae with screws. The animals were
anesthetized biweekly for radiography during the 8-week study period.
Final radiographs were taken after spine harvest. Initial and final
postoperative Cobb angles were compared statistically. RESULTS: Five
animals completed the protocol with a weight increase of 142% in 8
weeks. Coronal plane curvatures increased significantly with time,
from 0.8 (+/-1.8) to 22.4 (+/-2.8; P = 0.0001). On average, sagittal
plane curvatures did not increase with time. CONCLUSIONS: Spinal
hemiepiphysiodesis using an anatomically based implant and minimally
invasive procedures repeatedly induced spine curvature in a normal
porcine model. These techniques may slow, and perhaps even correct,
early progressive spine deformity without long rod instrumentation or
fusion.
Spine. 2005 May 15;30(10):1148-53. Related Articles, Links
Endoscopic mechanical spinal hemiepiphysiodesis modifies spine growth.
Wall EJ, Bylski-Austrow DI, Kolata RJ, Crawford AH.
Children's Hospital Medical Center and The University of Cincinnati
College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
STUDY DESIGN: An in vivo porcine model of progressive scoliosis as an
inverse analog of a proposed method of early surgical treatment.
OBJECTIVES: To test the hypothesis that scoliotic curvatures may be
repeatedly created using anatomically based vertebral staples and
thoracoscopic surgical procedures. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Staple
hemiepiphysiodesis is an established method for treating knee
deformities. Similar procedures have so far failed to arrest or
correct deformities of the spine. While experimental studies continue
to suggest that spine growth is modifiable, no prior clinically
translatable method has been shown to clearly and consistently alter
vertebral growth. METHODS: Custom spine staples were implanted into
midthoracic vertebrae of seven skeletally immature normal pigs. Each
staple spanned an intervertebral disc and two growth plates and was
fixed to adjacent vertebrae with screws. The animals were
anesthetized biweekly for radiography during the 8-week study period.
Final radiographs were taken after spine harvest. Initial and final
postoperative Cobb angles were compared statistically. RESULTS: Five
animals completed the protocol with a weight increase of 142% in 8
weeks. Coronal plane curvatures increased significantly with time,
from 0.8 (+/-1.8) to 22.4 (+/-2.8; P = 0.0001). On average, sagittal
plane curvatures did not increase with time. CONCLUSIONS: Spinal
hemiepiphysiodesis using an anatomically based implant and minimally
invasive procedures repeatedly induced spine curvature in a normal
porcine model. These techniques may slow, and perhaps even correct,
early progressive spine deformity without long rod instrumentation or
fusion.
Comment