Surgery for adolescents with scoliosis is only recommended when their curves are greater than 50 to 60 degrees and continuing to progress despite intensive physiotherapy and bracing.
There are several approaches to scoliosis surgery, but all use instrumentation systems in which hooks and screws are applied to the spine to anchor long rods in order to to reduce the shift of the spine and to extend it.
Once the bone fuses, the spine is no longer able to move in the fixated parts. Therefor the decision to undergo surgery has to be discussed carefully with the surgeon spezialized in spine surgery. For various reasons it is usually impossible to completely straighten a scoliotic spine, but in most cases cosmetical corrections are achieved.
