Surgical treatment of Scheuermann´s disease by the posterior approach. Case series

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To describe the results of surgical treatment of Scheuermann's disease by the posterior approach. METHOD: A descriptive, retrospective, longitudinal study in which patients with Scheuermann's disease, treated surgically by the posterior approach at the Hospital de Traumatologia y Ortopedia [Hospital for Traumatology and Orthopedics] "Lomas Verdes" IMSS. The Cobb method was used to measure the kyphosis in all the patients, of T5-T12. The surgical technique used was vertebral shortening by the Ponte osteotomy technique, at the apex of the deformity, accompanied by transpedicular instrumentation and posterior arthrodesis. RESULTS: Five patients were included; three men and two women, with an average age of 16.6 years. The initial average kyphosis was 76º, which was corrected to 42º after surgery. Blood loss was 590 ml, with a surgery time of 3 hours. Three patients were submitted to neurophysiological monitoring. No neurological lesion was found. There was no loss of correction at 6 months of evolution. CONCLUSIONS: The vertebral shortening technique with posterior instrumentation eliminates the use of the anterior approach to release the anterior longitudinal ligament. Osteotomies by the Ponte technique make the spine more flexible, and together with pedicular instrumentation, correct the deformity and preserve the correction over time.