EARLY AND SEMI-EARLY SURGERY FOR SCOLIOSIS CAUSED BY HEMIVERTEBRAE - INDICATIONS AND RESULTS

We report a series of 50 congenital scolioses due to hemivertebrae. Th is malformation was responsible for progressive deformity, largely pre dominant on the frontal plane. The average follow-up was 5 years and 3 months. Seven patients had mature bones. The series comprised 31 girl s and 19 boys. Three types of operations were performed: (a) hemiverte brae resection (5 cases); (b) early, mostly posterior convexity fusion carried out before the age of 6 years (26 cases), and (c) semi-early convexity fusion performed between the ages of 6 and 12 years (1 9 cas es). The results obtained in children with a more than 2 years' follow -up were: (a) early convexity fusion (18 cases): 7 epiphyseodesis effe cts, 6 graft effects and 4 failures; (b) semi-early convexity fusion ( 16 cases): 6 epiphyseodesis effects, 8 graft effects and 2 failures; ( c) hemivertebrae resection (5 cases): moderate gain that remained stab le in 4/5 cases.