title: Thoracic Insufficiency Syndrome.
abstract: Thoracic insufficiency syndrome (TIS) is a broad grouping of disorders that have a substantial impact on the chest wall, spine, and in many situations, both. While the conditions are varied, they share a potentially substantial impact on respiratory capacity and development over time and a presentation and need for intervention that is often in early childhood. Addressing these conditions has required a new paradigm that involves both deformity correction and a preservation of growth capacity. While there are now a number of options to treat severe spinal deformity early in life, when the deformity causes or is caused by a chest wall deformity, the Vertical Expandable Prosthetic Titanium Rib(VEPTR) is able to support surgical correction of both. The skeletal correction is often quite dramatic, but the functional measurements of quality of life and pulmonary function often do not show as dramatic and improvement, but consistently show a stabilization indicating control of the progressive thoracospinal disorder that produced TIS.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 3510 Civic Center Boulevard, Colket 11309, Philadelphia, PA 19104. Electronic address: MAYERO@email.chop.edu.
authors.forename: Oscar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Mayer
authors.affiliation: Division of Orthopedic Surgery, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.affiliation: Division of Orthopedic Surgery, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cahill
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonology, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA.
authors.forename: Gregory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Redding
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015897:Comorbidity; D004613:Ellis-Van Creveld Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D011788:Quality of Life; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D013122:Spinal Diseases / Q000151:congenital / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D013896:Thoracic Diseases / Q000151:congenital / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy