Study Design. Retrospective clinical and radiographic consecutive case series of 2 surgeons. Objective. The purpose of this study was to present a large consecutive series of patients with cerebral palsy who were treated with the Unit rod instrumentation at a single institution. The goal was to report the incidence of surgical complications, degree of deformity correction, reoperation rate, prevalence of pseudarthrosis, and the caretakers’ perceived outcome. Summary of Background Data. Children with cerebral palsy frequently develop scoliosis that requires surgical correction. Segmental instrumentation has been the primary mode of treatment. There are no reported large series with long-term follow up. Methods. This study was a retrospective review of 287 children treated with the Unit rod instrumentation. This instrumentation with fusion included the whole spine (between C7 and T3 into the pelvis) with 242 posterior-only and 45 anterior-posterior procedures. Of this group, 241 patients were observed for more than 2 years. This review focused on the rate of complications and radiographic outcome of the treatment. Parent and caretaker interviews were conducted to define perceived functional outcome after surgery. Results. Scoliosis was corrected from a mean of 76° to 25° (68%). Pelvic obliquity was corrected from a mean of 17° to 5° (71%). In posterior-only procedures the average blood loss was 2.8 L, ICU stay was 4.9 days, and the hospital stay was 19.6 days. In combined procedures, the average blood loss was 3.4 L, ICU stay was 6.7 days, and the hospital stay was 24.5 days. Major complications included 3 perioperative deaths, 18 deep wound infections [12 early deep infections in a total of 287 patients (4.2%); 6 late deep infections in a total of 236 patients (2.5%)], and 2 patients with septicemia who recovered after prolonged antibiotic management. Caretakers’ survey reported a 96% satisfaction rate. Conclusion. The Unit rod instrumentation is a common standard technique and the primary instrumentation system for the treatment of pediatric patients with cerebral palsy and neuromuscular scoliosis because it is simple to use, it is considerably less expensive than most other systems, and can achieve good deformity correction with a low loss of correction, as well as a low prevalence of associated complications and a low reoperation rate.

Background The aim of this study was to investigate and evaluate complications of intrathecal baclofen (ITB) pump implantation and maintenance in children with cerebral palsy. Methods We reviewed our entire consecutive series of pediatric patients treated with ITB between 1997 and 2006 at our hospital. There were 174 patients with a diagnosis of cerebral palsy, 8 with mixed dystonia, 2 with athetosis, and 3 with pure dystonia. During follow-up, 8 deaths occurred with no evidence of pump or catheter malfunction in any way contributing to the cause of death. Acute infection within 60 days of the surgery and late infection rates were calculated on the basis of number of incidents and incidents/follow-up patient years, respectively. Independently, a blinded caregiver phone questionnaire was completed in 92 cases. Results There were 316 surgical procedures; 161 were initial ITB pump implants at our institution. The average age at initial implant was 12 years, with an average follow-up of 3 years, 2 months. There were 80 planned replacement procedures (46 battery expirations and 3 planned pump replacements during posterior spinal fusion, 26 catheter replacements for posterior spinal fusion, and 5 reinsertions). There were 78 procedures in 57 patients related to complications, and the acute infection rate was 4.0%. The probability of developing a late infection was 1.0% per year of follow-up. On the basis of the follow-up questionnaire, 81% of parents/caregivers were satisfied with the treatment, and 87% would recommend ITB therapy. Conclusions ITB therapy is a safe and effective treatment for severe spasticity in the pediatric population, but does have a 31% rate of complications requiring surgical management over a 3-year treatment period. Parents and caregivers have a high rate of satisfaction and most would recommend the treatment to others.

Stablished in 1988. The purpose of this study was to assess the outcome in sixty-five children treated according to this protocol and followed for a minimum of eight years....

Foot deformities in children with cerebral palsy are common. The natural history of the deformities of the feet is very variable and very unpredictable in young children less then 5 years old. Treatment for the young children should be primarily with orthotics and manual therapy. Equinus is the most common deformity, with orthotics augmented with botulinum toxin being the primary management in young children. When fixed deformity develops lengthening only the muscle which is contracted is preferred. Varus deformity of the feet is often associated with equinus, and can almost always be managed with orthotics until 8 or 10 years of age. Planovalgus is the most common deformity in children with bilateral lower extremity spasticity. The primary management is orthotics until the child no longer tolerates the orthotic; then surgical management needs to consider all the deformities and all should be corrected. This requires correcting the subtalor subluxation with calcaneal lengthening or fusion, medial midfoot correction with osteotomy or fusion.

The purpose of this study was to delineate parents' and professional caretakers' satisfaction after spinal fusion in children with spasticity and to determine differences in their perceptions. A questionnaire assessing patients' functional improvement after spinal arthrodesis for correcting scoliosis was addressed to 190 parents. An expanded questionnaire was also addressed to 122 educators and therapists working in the care of children with cerebral palsy. Caretakers did not recognize effects of the scoliotic deformity on patients' head control, hand use, and feeding ability. Most of parents and caregivers reported a very positive impact of the surgery on patients' overall function, quality of life, and ease of care. Parents had more appreciation of the benefits in the children's appearance, whereas educators and therapists acknowledged more improvement in gross and oral motor function. Considering that the benefits from scoliosis correction clearly outweigh the increased risk of surgical complications, most parents (95.8%) and caretakers (84.3%) would recommend spine surgery.

Purpose: Isolated congenital clubfoot can be treated either operatively (posteromedial release) or conservatively (Ponseti method). This study retrospectively compared mid-term outcomes after surgical and Ponseti treatments to a normal sample and used multiple evaluation techniques, such as detailed gait analysis and foot kinematics. Methods: Twenty-six children with clubfoot treated surgically and 22 children with clubfoot treated with the Ponseti technique were evaluated retrospectively and compared to 34 children with normal feet. Comprehensive evaluation included a full gait analysis with multi-segment and single-segment foot kinematics, pedobarograph, physical examination, validated outcome questionnaires, and radiographic measurements. Results: The Ponseti group had significantly better plantarflexion and dorsiflexion range of motion during gait and had greater push-off power. Residual varus was present in both treatment groups, but more so in the operative group. Gait analysis also showed that the operative group had residual in-toeing, which appeared well corrected in the Ponseti group. Pedobarograph results showed that the operative group had significantly increased varus and significantly decreased medial foot pressure. The physical examination demonstrated significantly greater stiffness in the operative group in dorsiflexion, plantarflexion, ankle inversion, and midfoot abduction and adduction. Surveys showed that the Ponseti group had significantly more normal pediatric outcome data collection instrument results, disease-specific indices, and Dimeglio scores. The radiographic results suggested greater equinus and cavus and increased foot internal rotation profile in the operative group compared with the Ponseti group. Conclusions: Ponseti treatment provides superior outcome to posteromedial release surgery, but residual deformity still persists.