Novel Implant System for Pediatric Spinal Deformities

Researchers have developed a novel implant system for correcting spinal deformities in a pediatric patient that expands as the child grows and eliminates the necessity for additional surgeries to accommodate the patient's bone growth.

BACKGROUND:
Young children with pronounced or rapidly developing spinal deformity are often surgically treated with an implanted system that partially corrects existing abnormal curvature and guides future spine growth. For these traditional implant designs, the vertical rods that align the spine must be surgically lengthened approximately every six months to accommodate the patient's bone growth. In small and slender children, the prominent implants may cause difficulty with healing of the tissue after surgery as well as discomfort and psychological burden from the visual prominence.

This novel implant system uses a series of simple connectors which firmly attach to the ribs, while a sliding rod passes through a channel in a way that properly orients the patient's spine and also permits spontaneous and gradual expansion of the distance between connectors and ribs as the patient grows.

APPLICATIONS:

• Infantile scoliosis
• Neuromuscular scoliosis requiring fixation to the pelvis
• Syndrome related scoliosis

ADVANTAGES:

• Low profile
• Allows spontaneous directed linear spine growth without planned repeated surgeries
• Rib location avoids spine exposure
• Flattened rod cross section helps control spine rotation
• Flexible system allows spine motion with lowered risk of stiffening of the spine.