Determining lung volume with three-dimensional reconstructions of CT scan data: A pilot study to evaluate the effects of expansion thoracoplasty on children with severe spinal deformities.

A retrospective review of a cohort of five patients who had been treated with a new technique for expansion thoracoplasty was performed. This study was designed to demonstrate that measurement of the volume of the lungs by three-dimensional reconstruction of CT scan data from children with complex spinal and thoracic deformities is a useful method for determining lung volumes in children who are too young to cooperate with pulmonary function testing. The authors' results indicate that lung volume by analysis of CT scan data is also a means of evaluating and quantifying the effects of expansion thoracoplasty. The authors were able to show that expansion thoracoplasty and stabilization with a titanium rib was able to increase the volume of lung parenchyma in the five patients in the study group by approximately 25% to 90% after surgical intervention.