← Neuromuscular Scoliosis: A Guide for Families
Surgery can make daily life easier for your child and for you, but it carries real risks. These figures come from published studies, and your child's own risk depends on the curve size and the underlying condition. We'll go through them with you.
Benefits of surgery
- Improvements in daily activities such as eating, dressing and bathing
- Less time needed for resting
- Better sitting balance
- Better overall health
- Better lung function
- The curve is much less likely to get bigger
- Better sleeping comfort and pain relief
- Better appearance and self-esteem
Risks of surgery
Risk | How often |
Any complication | About 25 in 100 patients (75 in 100 have none). Highest in children with spina bifida |
Wound infection | About 4 in 100 (96 in 100 do not). Just over half are close to the skin and can be treated with antibiotics alone. In less than half, the infection is deeper and further surgery is needed. Rarely, the rods must be removed |
Hardware loosening or breakage | Up to 16 in 100 children (84 or more in 100 do not). Surgery to fix it is generally not needed |
Junctional kyphosis: worsening of alignment at the end of the hardware | Not known how often |
Back pain | May be unchanged, or can develop as a new problem |
Taller trunk after correction | Can make independent transfers and self-catheterisation harder |
Lung congestion, pneumonia, or a longer time on the breathing tube | May occur |
Vomiting and ileus (slow bowel movement) | Fairly common after any major surgery, including spinal fusion |
Pancreatitis | Rare. Not known how often |
Urinary tract infection | 5 in 100 children (95 in 100 do not) |
Spinal cord injury, with worse spasticity and further bowel and bladder problems | Rare. Not known how often. Cord monitoring during surgery can detect injury and correct it |
Death within 30 days of surgery | Fewer than 2 in 100 children. Higher in children with more medical problems and larger curves |
Most complications can be treated successfully. Even when complications occur, about 90 in 100 parents are satisfied with the results of surgery because of the benefits.