Kyphosis: Scheuermann's kyphosis in a teenage female

Description

Dr. Bridwell diagnosed this 13-year-old female patient with progressive Scheuermann’s kyphosis. Her thoracic spine (the area near the rib cage and shoulder blades) sagittal (lateral) curve was rapidly getting worse: it went from 82º to 90º in just three months. Normal thoracic kyphosis is between 25 and 45°.

Treatment

Dr. Bridwell did a posterior spinal fusion to correct the patient’s curve. First, he did Ponte osteotomies at several of the thoracic segments (and there are 12 levels). A Ponte osteotomy is a technique that involves resecting ligaments and facet joints at the apical segments to improve kyphosis correction.
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After the osteotomies, Dr. Bridwell put in pedicle screws at every vertebral level from T3 to L2. He attached rods to those screws; the screws and rods held and stabilized the spine while the bones healed and fused. The implants/instrumentation were used to facilitate correction of the deformity and also to hold the deformity in a corrected position while the fusion gets solid.

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Note based on her SRS scores her pain and function substantially improved with correction of the spinal deformity. Further, note that she has maximum satisfaction with the procedure.

Result

The patient’s spinal curve went from 90º to 37º.
If you have any questions or would like someone to walk you through this case, please call Dr. Bridwell's office at (314) 747-2526 or (314) 747-2560 and ask to speak to either Bernie or Jackie and they or one of his staff will be happy to explain the case in greater detail to you. To learn more about how to understand SRS and Oswestry Scores, please click here.