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Vertebral Stapling
November 8, 2009 |
Ice and heat. Two
things that are revolutionizing the way physicians are treating
pediatric scoliosis.
“It is designed for children that have curves that are worsening or at high risk
of worsening,” explains Dr. John Churchill, a prediatric orthopedic surgeon on The
Children's Hospital medical staff.
It’s called vertebral stapling. This minimally invasive procedure was just recently
performed on a 10-year-old scoliosis patient at The Children’s Hospital of Southwest
Florida. “She is 10 years old and she had developed a relatively significant curve.
Her main curve is down here in the lower part of the spine and we can measure it
at about 40 degrees or so.”
Using these unique staples, Dr. Churchill demonstrates how a little ice and heat
with this special metal helps to straighten out the curve. “They are shaped at room
temperature. What we do in surgery is we freeze them, put them in sterile ice water.
When it gets cold, it’s flexible and we can open up the tines and that’s how we
are able to drive them in. And then as it warms up to the body temperature, the
tines close,” he adds.
The result? “Here’s her x-rays after surgery and we can see here, she has three
staples in the lower part of her spine and four in the upper part. You can tell
there’s been significant correction.”
The entire surgery takes only a few hours and is designed specifically for children
and adolescents with severe curves or those that are not responding to traditional
bracing methods.
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