The spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society
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There is little information regarding the surgical outcomes with regard to the timing of surgery in children under age 10 years for congenital scoliosis with a long-term follow-up. ⋯ In congenital scoliosis patients, posterior hemivertebra resection after pedicle screw fixation before the age of 6 years had significantly better deformity correction and did not cause a negative effect on the growth of vertebral body or spinal canal compared with the group treated after 6 years of age. Therefore, early surgical correction of a congenital hemivertebra in children under 6 years of age, before structural changes occur, effectively achieves a more satisfactory correction without causing iatrogenic spinal stenosis or neurologic complications compared with children older than 6 years but under 10 years of age.