[Surgical treatment of scoliosis in childhood and adolescence: Age group and etiology-related indications and choice of instrumentation].

The indications for a corrective surgical procedure for the complex 3-dimensional deformations of the spine collectively known under the term scoliosis, essentially depend on knowledge of the underlying etiology, the time of initial diagnosis in relation to the growth curve of the child and on considerations about the general operability of the patient. An early onset of scoliosis in childhood under defined diagnostic criteria is usually associated with a fast progression of spinal curvature and requires early surgical intervention during the growth period, while scoliosis in adolescence often allows a delayed surgical intervention until all conservative means have been taken into consideration. Corrective measures in the growing spine require procedures and adjustable hardware which can be adapted to vertebral and thoracic growth and thus anticipate the threat of pulmonary insufficiency due to postural and spinal collapse. Towards the end of puberty when spinal growth slowly comes to an end, corrective spinal fusion procedures are considered in those cases of early and late onset scoliosis, where curvature progression is likely to occur.