Scoliosis in the child with cerebral palsy

Scoliosis is common in children with cerebral palsy. The incidence and curve pattern depend on the degree of neurologic involvement. These children carry a higher risk of complications because of the increased presence of associated medical comorbidities. Accordingly, a careful preoperative evaluation is required that should involve assessment of the patient's pulmonary, nutritional, gastrointestinal, and neurologic systems as well as a thorough evaluation of the spine and musculoskeletal system. Children with progressive curves >40° to 50° are candidates for spinal fusion, especially when the deformity interferes with sitting or is unresponsive to bracing. The goal of surgery is to obtain a stable, balanced, and painless spinal fusion. Although posterior spinal fusion with multisegmental fixation is the most common technique, others, such as anterior release and/or fusion or combined procedures, are now considered. In patients with significant pelvic obliquity or who are at risk of developing pelvic obliquity, instrumentation should extend to the pelvis, particularly in the nonambulatory child.