Scoliosis in children after thoracotomy for aortic coarctation.
A follow-up study was performed to assess the prevalence of scoliosis in 160 patients in whom aortic coarctation had been treated operatively through a left posterolateral incision in the fourth intercostal space. Scoliosis had not been seen in any patient before the thoracotomy, but a scoliosis of 10 degrees or more was observed in thirty-five patients (22 per cent) at the follow-up examination, which was performed an average of seven years after the thoracotomy. The scoliosis was a thoracic curve and was directed to the left in twenty-six of the thirty-five patients. Most of the curves were mild (between 10 and 20 degrees) and hardly progressed during the follow-up period. The high-risk period for the onset of scoliosis began about three years after the operation. The prevalence of scoliosis did not correlate significantly with the age or sex of the patients.
Van Biezen
F C
FC
University Hospital Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Bakx
P A
PA
De Villeneuve
V H
VH
Hop
W C
WC
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001017:Aortic Coarctation / Q000601:surgery*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012600:Scoliosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae / Q000473:pathology; D013908:Thoracotomy / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000379:methods; D013997:Time Factors