The problem of blood in surgical treatment of spinal deformity.

In order to minimize the risks of homologous blood transfusion during surgery for spinal deformity, we perform a blood-saving procedure consisting of both intraoperative methods and auto-transfusion techniques. In this paper we compare our experience in the year 1989 with that of the past decade. When auto-transfusion was used, there was a decrease in intraoperative blood loss and only 4% of the patients required homologous transfusions.