Growing Rods for Scoliosis in Children | Children Spine Specialist in UK

by Mr Jwalant S Mehta//Spinal Fusion Surgery

What Are Growing Rods?

Unlike adults, children (below age 10) do not reach the skeletal maturity to undergo conventional spinal correction procedures. Young children diagnosed with Scoliosis need radically different spinal curvature treatment procedures which do not impede their natural body growth. While children with extreme Scoliosis cannot be treated with a cast or brace, they are also too young to endure Spinal Fusion Surgery.

Growing Rods for Scoliosis:

Growing Rod surgical procedure is an effective spinal curvature correction procedure for children that can help correct the spinal curvature without impeding the natural growth of the child.

Using this minimally invasive surgery procedure, custom made titanium rods are carefully attached to the spine at either end using screws or hooks by the Spinal Surgeon. These titanium rods are regularly extended in sync with the skeletal growth until the child’s chest is sufficiently matured and the spine reaches its maximum length. And ultimately, a permanent spinal fusion procedure is performed by the Spinal Surgeon which prevents further spinal deformity and this can result in patients leading a healthy life without any complications.

Advances in technology have helped the Growing Rods procedures further improve their efficiency by making the whole procedure as minimally invasive as possible. There was a time when a patient has to undergo multiple complicated surgeries to undergo Scoliosis correction. Fortunately, with the availability of following state-of-art growing devices the procedure’ simplicity and efficiency is significantly increased:

Are Growing Rods Right for My Child?

  1. Growth-guided devices: These system devices use a set of ‘anchor points’ to implant the expandable rods on either side of the spine with the help of wires and screws. Thee rods are left in place and the growth factor of the spine stretches the rod while growing along the road. The rigid rods only expand in a vertical direction, thus correcting the spinal curvature over time.
  2. VEPTRs: Vertical Expandable Prosthetic Titanium Rib Devices entails an expandable metal rod system that is designed to provide more rib cage space for growing children while simultaneously correcting the abnormal spinal curvature as the child grows.
  3. MCGRs: Magnetically Controlled Growing Rods are advanced growing devices that do away with the need of performing multiple back surgeries as the child grows. The rods once implanted by the Spinal Surgeon are precisely expanded using a remote controller by using an external remote controller. This ability to elongate the rods according to the growth of the child makes this procedure one of the best minimally invasive procedures among the lot.

With shorter recovery time, less medical costs & hospital stay and minimal interruption to the childhood, Growing Rods procedure is the best spinal curvature treatment procedure available for children. This procedure can be used to efficiently treat Congenital, Neuromuscular, and Paediatric Scoliosis in younger children.

Is Growing Rods Procedure Right for My Child?

A Spinal Surgeon can treat a Scoliosis of a child using this procedure only when a Scoliosis Bracing technique proves to be inadequate in correcting the spinal curvature. In addition to this, the child must be young enough to rule out the possibility of Spinal Fusion.

If you are living in the UK and are looking to consult an expert Spinal Surgeon for Scoliosis treatment of your child, then Mr. Jwalant S. Mehta is the Best Children and Adult Spinal Surgeon in UK with a remarkable track record in minimally invasive Scoliosis treatment procedures.

In case you need any help, you can contact us here: Clinical secretary: Samantha Leavy +44 785 021 1939