Coronal realignment and reduction techniques and complication avoidance.

Overview

Scoliosis is a broad term encompassing multiple pathologies with different etiologies. Patients may range from the infant with congenital deformity, to the adolescent with idiopathic scoliosis, to the elderly patient with severe degenerative scoliosis. Treatment must be tailored to individual circumstances and the pathoanatomy of each deformity. Various coronal reduction techniques have been described and will be discussed within this article. While scoliosis is generally considered a deformity in the coronal plane, often deformity is present in the sagittal and axial planes also. Treatment of these deformities can require osteotomies or vertebral column resections, techniques further discussed in accompanying articles.