Causes of the failure and the revision methods for congenital scoliosis due to hemivertebra.

The purpose of this study was to retrospectively investigate the causes of failure in the first operation and the revision procedure for patients with congenital scoliosis due to hemivertebra. Nineteen patients who underwent the revision operations because of failure in the first operation were included in this study. All the malformations were identified as fully segmented hemivertebra, including 16 cases in thoracolumbar vertebra (T10: three patients; T12: seven patients; L1: six patients), and three cases in thoracic vertebra (T8). The causes of failure in the first operation and the outcome of revision procedure for patients were retrospectively analyzed. All patients were successfully performed the personalized revision surgeries. The failure reasons of the first operation included limitations of the first operation procedure, no or incomplete resection of the malformed hemivertebra, improper operation during surgery, improper internal fixation material, and improper internal fixation scope. The average postoperative scoliosis Cobb's angle and kyphosis Cobb's angle were corrected from 54.1° preoperatively to 23.1° postoperatively, and 59.3° preoperatively to 25.8° postoperatively, respectively. The average postoperative distance between the C7 plumb line and the center sacral vertical line was decreased from 2.5 cm preoperatively to 1.5 cm postoperatively. The average follow-up period was 2.2 years. No serious complication was observed. The cause of the failure of the first operations for the congenital scoliosis due to hemivertebra is verified. Our study may provide a basis for the treatment of congenital scoliosis due to hemivertebra.