Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2016 Dec;2(4):299-309.
doi: 10.21037/jss.2016.09.05.

The management of scoliosis in children with cerebral palsy: a review

Thomas Cloake  1 , Adrian Gardner  1
Affiliations
Review

The management of scoliosis in children with cerebral palsy: a review

Thomas Cloake et al. J Spine Surg. 2016 Dec.

Abstract

Children who suffer with cerebral palsy (CP) have a significant chance of developing scoliosis during their early years and adolescence. The behavior of this scoliosis is closely associated with the severity of the CP disability and unlike idiopathic scoliosis, it continues to progress beyond skeletal maturity. Conservative measures may slow the progression of the curve, however, surgery remains the only definitive management option. Advances in surgical technique over the last 50 years have provided methods to effectively treat the deformity while also reducing complication rates. The increased risk of surgical complications with these complex patients make decisions about treatment challenging, however with careful pre-operative optimization and post-operative care, surgery can offer a significant improvement in quality of life. This review discusses the development of scoliosis in CP patient, evaluates conservative and surgical treatment options and assesses post-operative outcome.

Keywords: Cerebral palsy (CP); child; scoliosis; spine; treatment outcome.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Preoperative radiograph of a child with cerebral palsy and scoliosis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Postoperative radiograph following pedicle screw instrumentation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Rosenbaum P, Paneth N, Leviton A, et al. A report: the definition and classification of cerebral palsy April 2006. Dev Med Child Neurol Suppl 2007;109:8-14. - PubMed
    1. Surman G, Bonellie S, Chalmers J, et al. UKCP: a collaborative network of cerebral palsy registers in the United Kingdom. J Public Health (Oxf) 2006;28:148-56. 10.1093/pubmed/fdi087 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Balmer GA, MacEwen GD. The incidence and treatment of scoliosis in cerebral palsy. J Bone Joint Surg Br 1970;52:134-7. - PubMed
    1. Madigan RR, Wallace SL. Scoliosis in the institutionalized cerebral palsy population. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 1981;6:583-90. 10.1097/00007632-198111000-00009 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Persson-Bunke M, Hägglund G, Lauge-Pedersen H, et al. Scoliosis in a total population of children with cerebral palsy. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 2012;37:E708-13. 10.1097/BRS.0b013e318246a962 - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources