MAGEC Rods as a Solution to the Paediatric Scoliotic Spine Flashcards
How is the failure strength of spinal ligaments recorded.
In a tensile test, if a compressive test was used it would have meant the vertebrae would collapse
What is the relationship with strength, and position of the vertebrae down the spine for the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine?
The strength increases as you go further down the spine.
How much of the spinal column’s length is the intervertebral disc?
1/4
What do the intervertebral discs do for the spine?
They serve as shock absorbers.
Is scoliosis more common in girls or boys?
Girls
What needs to be considered when looking at the graph of age of girls vs their weight when considering for scoliosis treatment?
There needs to be a factor of safety considered too
There is a big age range to be considered in specifications for all types of spinal rods, where does this range usually start?
The youngest is usually 5-6 years but could be as young as 2.
How long have traditional growing rods been in existence?
Around 20-25 years.
How do traditional growing rods attach to the spine?
They attach to the top and bottom of the spine.
What do traditional growing rods need to allow for the child’s spine?
They need to allow for growth of the child.
How do the traditional growing rods extend? And how often?
An operation extends the traditional growing rods every 6-9 months.
What are the concerns with the repeated operations for extending traditional growing rods?
There are concerns with using repeated anaesthetics on a growing/developing brain. This is even more of a concern for children under 3. Healthcare professionals need to balance the benefits against the potential risks. There is also concerns with the physical trauma for the child and psychological issues with repeated hospitalisation. This can be distressing for parents too. There is a great cost with multiple operations too.
Explain the surgery for traditional growing rod?
- begins with palpation, feeling for the rods in the back.
- they cut through the skin, indicate the size of the gap, and undo the screw.
- they take out rods and clean
- they use reverse pliers to extend the rods
- they then clean and disinfect area once procedure is done.
At what ages do the surgeons say a patient will have sufficient length of spine with the traditional growing rods, what do they do next?
Many surgeons say a patient will have sufficient length of spine at age 11-13, they can then fuse the rods to the spine, or remove them.
What is a MAGEC Rod?
A titanium adjustable growing rod that is surgically implanted and secured using spinal fixation components, such as pedicle screws, hooks and/or connectors.
What is used to ‘distract’ the implemented MAGEC rod from outside the body?
An External Remote Controller (ERC)
