A comparative analysis of the surgical treatment of preschool children with congenital spinal deformation and isolated hemivertebra from the combined and dorsal approaches

Background. Currently, there are many studies on the evaluation of the results of surgical intervention and the comparative analysis of various surgical techniques for treating children with congenital spinal deformities. However, there is no consensus regarding the choice of surgical access to the abnormal vertebra that considers the duration of surgery, the volume of intraoperative blood loss, the degree of correction achieved during the intervention, the length of metal fixation, and the preservation of the result in the long-term observation period. Aim. The goal is to identify the advantages and disadvantages of the dorsal and combined approaches to the surgical treatment of preschool children with congenital deformities of the thoracic and lumbar spine against the background of an isolated violation of the vertebral formation. Materials and methods. A retrospective analysis of 56 patients under the age of five with congenital spinal deformities and a history of an isolated hemivertebra in the thoracic and lumbar regions who underwent one-stage hemivertebral extrusion from a dorsal approach (1 st group: n = 30) or from a combined approach (2 nd group: n = 26) was conducted. Results. All patients showed improvement in the sagittal and frontal profiles of the spine. However, during separation in the first group of patients, a progression of the kyphotic component of the deformity in the lumbar spine from −19° to −8° was noted, while the correction value of the curvature of the scoliotic component remained stable. Intraoperative blood loss in the first group of patients was less (234 mL) compared with that in the second group (319 mL), while the duration of surgery was longer (310 min and 185 min, respectively). On average, in the first group, a longer metal structure was used to correct the spinal deformity compared with the second group. Conclusions. The correction of the patients’ congenital spinal deformities with a single hemivertebra from a combined access approach allows a complete correction of the congenital curvature, the fixation of a smaller number of vertebrae, and the maintenance of a stable result in the long-term observation period compared with the dorsal approach. Isolated dorsal access to the hemivertebral body is characterized by less intraoperative blood loss compared with the combined approach, although the length of surgical intervention is increased.