Purpose: evaluation of efficacy of operative treatment with the use of screw and hybrid metal constructions in idiopathic scoliosis associated with severe spine deformities. Material and methods: The outcomes of treatment of 34 patients aged 15 to 27 years old with severe scoliosisoperated on using screw metal constructions, were reviewed. 22 patients operated on with the use of hybrid metal constructions, made a control group. The groups were compared by the following parameters: pre- and postoperative Cobb angle, deformity mobility according to traction test, total sagittal/frontal balance, CT apical vertebra rotation, operation time, intraoperative blood loss, the number of instrumented vertebrae, and correction failure at 24-hr spondylograms. Results: Group A (screw spine fixation) demonstrated better outcomes compared to group B (combined spine fixation) in the following parameters. Postoperative correction was 48% and 41%;apical vertebra rotation decreased from 78° to 55° (30%) and from 74° to 59°(21%);total sagittal/frontal balance decreased from 39/25 mmto 14/12 mm (64/52%) and from 35/26 mm to 16/15 mm (55/43%), correspondingly. These results suggest better trunk compensation and postoperative correction in a group of patients with screw fixation. Smaller values of correction failure of the main arc as well as insignificant increase of thoracic kyphosis in the postoperative period (24 months) 3.8%/4.3% in group A compared to 6.2%/7.5% in group B testify to greater reliability and stability of ‘all screw’ metal constructions. The number of fixed elements was on average one more in a group with combined fixation (13 and 14, correspondingly).

The article presents a clinical case of step-up surgical treatment of spinal canal stenosis at the craniovertebral and thoracolumbar level in a patient with mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) type VI. The treatment method gives an opportunity to achieve a satisfactory result at the background of severe metabolic disease.

This review presents an analysis of scientific papers on the conservative treatment of idiopathic scoliosis with spinal braces. Insufficient awareness of brace treatment for spinal deformities is often the reason for the negative attitude of orthopedists toward brace therapy and the conservative treatment of scoliosis in general. In world practice, braces have been the primary and scientifically proven technique for conservative treatment of intermediate forms (grades IIIII) of scoliosis in children and adolescents for over 50 years. Modern spinal braces are active orthopedic products that provide three-dimensional correction of the existing deformity and prevent the progression of scoliosis. The main goal of using braces is to eliminate the pathological displacement of the vertebrae, ribs, and pelvis to a physiological state by applying pressure to specific body areas and actively correcting the deformity. Using a brace is the only non-surgical method to treat scoliosis with scientifically proven efficiency. The poor results of using braces to treat scoliosis are primarily due to insufficient correction in the brace, non-compliance with the wearing time, and the lack of adjunctive therapy. The efficiency of brace therapy depends on three main factors that require the personal involvement of the patient: the time of wearing the corset per day, the degree of correction in the corset, and constant (daily) training of the back muscles. The results of recent multicenter studies confirm the efficiency of using braces to treat idiopathic adolescent scoliosis.