The surgical management of Scheuermann's disease.

Thirty patients of a group of 39 patients with Scheuermann's kyphosis who underwent posterior spine fusion using large-diameter Harrington compression instrumentation were reviewed with a mean follow-up of 71.8 months. The mean curve before surgery was 71.5, and at follow-up, 37.7. The mean loss of correction at review was 6. This procedure was effective in adults with a fixed deformity as long as no anterior bony bridging existed. The authors believe that posterior Harrington instrumentation and spine fusion offer excellent correction of deformity at long-term follow-up without the added morbidity of a second procedure.