title: Concurrent tethered cord release and growing-rod implantation-is it safe?
abstract: Study Design Retrospective case series from one institution with a comparison control group. Objective To evaluate the safety of concomitant tethered cord release and growing-rod insertion in individuals with early onset scoliosis. Methods We retrospectively reviewed patients who underwent concurrent tethered cord release and growing-rod insertion. We compared our data to a comparison control group of eight patients who underwent staged tethered cord release and growing-rod insertion. Results We identified three patients meeting criteria. There were no neurological complications in the three patients who underwent concomitant surgery. Average immediate postoperative curve correction was 43.3 degrees (47.6%). We identified seven patients who underwent staged surgery from a multicenter prospective database. No neurological complications were reported, and average immediate postoperative correction was 35.1 degrees (46.2%). Conclusion We believe that concurrent tethered cord release and growing-rod insertion can be performed safely with the use of multimodality neurophysiological monitoring techniques.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Children's Hospital Central California, Madera, California ; Department of Orthopedics, Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, Delaware.
authors.forename: Jon E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Oda
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, Delaware ; Growing Spine Study Group, La Jolla, California.
authors.forename: Suken A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, Delaware.
authors.forename: William G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Mackenzie
authors.affiliation: Growing Spine Study Group, La Jolla, California ; San Diego Center for Spinal Disorders, La Jolla, California.
authors.forename: Behrooz A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Akbarnia
authors.affiliation: Growing Spine Study Group, La Jolla, California ; Deptartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hacettepe University, Sihhiye, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Muharrem
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yazici
keywords: early onset scoliosis; neurogenic scoliosis; spinal cord monitoring; spinal growing rods; tethered cord