Surgical Treatment for Rare Cases of Congenital Kyphosis

Abstract

Background & Objective: Congenital kyphosis is a rare case in the spine with progressive nature. Every attempt should focus on early diagnosis for surgical treatment before the progression of neurologic injury. The aim of this study is to report the results of surgical treatment with anterior approach for a series of rare cases of congenital dislocation of the spine associated with angler kyphosis and neurologic injuries.

Materials &Methods: It is a retrospective study of case series of 5 children (3male & 2female) average age 68.4 months with a congenital dislocated spine and a variant degree of neurological disability for a long period (average 13.2 months). All the children were treated by the same surgeon between 2008-2015 with spinal cord release and anterior arthrodesis using autologous bone graft. They were followed up for 64.8 months.

Results: We recorded one spinal claudication which was completely resolved within 2 weeks. No other complication was reported. 4 cases achieved full neurological recovery and one still had a mild weakness. The mean improvement of Cobb angel was 65.67% without reporting any recurrence or pseudo arthrosis during the follow up period.

Conclusion: Early diagnosis and treatment is a primary key to obtain good results. And even if the presence of prolonged neurologic injuries which reach paraplegia in some cases, still spinal cord release and vertebra fixation offer a good chance for neurologic improvement.