Single rod instrumentation in patients with scoliosis and co-morbidities: Indications and outcomes

AIM To present our results on the use of a single rod instrumentation correction technique in a small number of patients with major medical co-morbidities. METHODS This study was a prospective single surgeon series. Patients were treated with single rod hybrid constructs and had a minimum 2-year follow-up. Indications included complex underlying co-morbidities, conversion of growing rods to definitive fusion, and moderate adolescent idiopathic primarily thoracic scoliosis with severe eczema and low body mass index (BMI). RESULTS We included 99 consecutive patients. Mean age at surgery was 12.8 years (SD 3.5 years). Mean scoliosis correction was 62% (SD 15%) from 73 degrees (SD 22 degrees) to 28 degrees (SD 15 degrees). Mean surgical time was 153 min (SD 34 min), and blood loss was 530 mL (SD 327 mL); 20% BV (SD 13%). Mean clinical and radiological follow-up was 3.2 years (range: 2-12) post-operatively. Complications included rod failure, which occurred in three of our complex patients with severe syndromic or congenital kyphoscoliosis (3%). Only one of these three patients required revision surgery to address a non-union. Our revision rate was 2% (including a distal junctional kyphosis in a Marfan's syndrome patient). CONCLUSION The single rod technique has achieved satisfactory deformity correction and a low rate of complications in patients with specific indications and severe underlying medical conditions. In these children with significant co-morbidities, where the risks of scoliosis surgery are significantly increased, this technique has achieved low operative time, blood loss, and associated surgical morbidity.