title: [Efficacy of preoperative Halo-femoral traction in the treatment of rigid idiopathic scoliosis].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the efficacy of preoperative Halo-femoral traction in the treatment of rigid idiopathic scoliosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixteen patients with rigid idiopathic scoliosis treated with Halo-femoral traction before posterior spine fusion from July 2003 through May 2006 were studied retrospectively. There were 4 male and 12 female, with a mean age of 16 years (range, 12-20 years). The coronal Cobb angles of coronal major curve and the thoracic kyphosis (T(5)-T(12)) were 111 degrees and 64 degrees, respectively. All the patients underwent preoperative Halo-femoral traction. After the maximum weight traction for 2-3 weeks, a posterior instrumentation and fusion was performed. The correction rate of coronal major curve on preoperative side bending film, on supine film after Halo-femoral traction and after surgery was compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The maximum traction weight averaged 19 kg. All patients had an at least 12-month follow-up. One patient experienced transient brachial plexus palsy and complete recovery was achieved after reducing the traction weight. No neurologic complication, death and respiratory failure occurred after surgery. In comparison to the correction rate of 18.7% on preoperative side bending film, the correction rate of coronal major curve after Halo-femoral traction increased by 13.2% (P < 0.05). The postoperative correction rate of coronal major curve and thoracic kyphosis was 48.6% and 51.9%, respectively. At the final follow-up, the coronal and sagittal correction loss averaged 2.0% and 5.8%, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Preoperative Halo-femoral traction combined with intraoperative posterior spinal release can significantly enhance the correction rate for rigid idiopathic scoliosis. However, the traction complications should be worthy of vigilance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, the Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing 210008, China.
authors.forename: Ze-zhang
authors.initials: ZZ
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Bang-ping
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Wei-wei
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012600:Scoliosis / Q000601:surgery*; D013123:Spinal Fusion; D014143:Traction / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult