New Study Compares Health-Related Quality of Life of Early-Onset Scoliosis Patients Treated with Traditional Growing Rods Versus Magnetically-Controlled Growing Rods
Milwaukee, WI (PRWEB) June 01, 2017 -- A research study led by Drs. David Skaggs, Behrooz Akbarnia and Michael Vitale compared the health-related quality of life of patients with early-onset scoliosis using two different surgical techniques.
One group of patients was treated with traditional growing rods (TGR), a surgical technique that involves repeated surgical lengthening of spinal rods to correct the spinal deformity and continue to allow growth of the child’s spine and thorax. The other group of patients was treated with magnetically-controlled growing rods (MCGR). MCGR was cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2014 and provides surgeons the ability to lengthen spinal rods non-invasively with the use of a remote control.
MCGR rod lengthenings can be performed during routine office visits without the use of surgery or anesthesia. Compared with TGR patients who underwent repetitive surgical lengthenings, MCGR patients had improved post-operative quality of life scores in 3 of 10 domains: Transfer (ability to get around town), Daily Living and Emotion. All other domains were similar between the groups.
The study, conducted in partnership with the Growing Spine Foundation and Children's Spine Foundation, will be presented at the 24th International Meeting on Advanced Spine Techniques (IMAST), July 12-15, 2017 in Cape Town, South Africa.
The Growing Spine Foundation (GSF) and Children's Spine Foundation (CSF) are 501(c)(3) charitable, non-profit organizations aimed at supporting medical education and scientific research to optimize the quality of life of children with Early Onset Scoliosis (EOS). Find more information at http://www.growingspine.org and http://www.childrenspinefoundation.org.
Mary Dean, JD, CAE, Growing Spine Foundation, http://www.growingspine.org, +1 (414) 628-0945, [email protected]
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