New Classification Of Spinal Deformity Defines Range Of Normalcy

[Guest guest]

New Classification Of Spinal Deformity Defines Range Of Normalcy

http://medicalnewscenter.com/out/out.cgi?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081209154953.htm

A University of Cincinnati (UC) neurosurgeon who has spent his career

helping people with severe spine problems stand up straight has

spearheaded the creation of a new spinal deformity classification

system. The system, published this fall in the journal Neurosurgery,

defines deformity in relation to the healthy, normal curve of the

spine.

" What we've done is define spinal deformity and its manifestations

throughout the course of a lifetime, based on a systematic approach

to the spine, from the head to the pelvis, " says Kuntz IV,

MD, an associate professor in UC's neurosurgery department and

director of the division of spine and peripheral nerve surgery at the

UC Neuroscience Institute. " Defining deformity with this degree of

precision allows us to provide optimal treatment. "

Kuntz, who practices at the Mayfield Clinic, and his co-authors

defined spinal deformity by synthesizing published literature that

describes normal neutral upright spinal alignment in asymptomatic

juvenile, adolescent, adult and geriatric volunteers. The researchers

used a total of 38 angles and displacements to define neutral upright

spinal alignment, compiling their data over a period of five years.

The spine is a " dynamic organ that changes during the course of a

lifetime, " Kuntz says, with normal curves increasing with age.

An estimated 1.5 percent of the population has some degree of spinal

deformity, which can take many forms. Abnormal curvatures can occur

from side to side, as in scoliosis; they can involve an abnormal

forward curve of the spine, known as kyphosis, or hunchback; and they

can involve an abnormal posterior curve of the lower spine, known as

lordosis, or swayback.

Spinal deformity, depending on its severity, can cause pain,

disability and a reduction in quality of life.

Kuntz, whose spinal reconstructions can take as long as 10 to 15

hours over a period of two days, strives for optimal spinal alignment

with the finest cosmetic symmetry, even in the most severely disabled

patients.

" Some physicians may feel that the result doesn't have to be

perfect, " Kuntz says. " But I do. It's a big deal when you have a

patient who can't stand up straight, who can't look you in the eye,

who's embarrassed to go out. It's a big deal when you help him or her

become a person who's not only attractive to others but also

attractive to himself or herself. "

Other co-authors of the spinal classification are Levin, PhD,

and Pettigrew, PhD, of UC; Atiq Durrani, MD, formerly of UC;

Shaffrey, MD, of the University of Virginia;

Ondra, MD, of Northwestern University; and Praveen Mummaneni, MD, of

the University of California at San Francisco.