Congenital thoracic lordosis.

The rare spinal deformity of congenital thoracic lordosis is illustrated in five patients. Often this deformity is progressive and may cause severe pulmonary deficits and death. In the two patients most recently treated, early spine fusion (one anterior and one posterior) showed promising results--halting of the progression of deformity and even some amelioration of the lordosis. In two patients in whom active attempts were made to correct the lordosis, the complications were severe--one patient died and quadriparesis developed in the other.