Early-Onset Scoliosis

Early-onset scoliosis (EOS) is a heterogeneous condition characterized by the presence of a spinal curve in the coronal plane >10° in a patient younger than 10 years old. There is no single treatment for every patient, and management should be tailored based on the patient’s etiology, curve pattern, maturity, and comorbidities. Treatment strategies vary widely. Serial casting is a viable option in selected cases, especially in idiopathic ones. Surgical treatment, even growth-friendly surgical methods, should be postponed for as long as possible in order to allow for complete chest and lungs development. As novel techniques emerge (such as, magnetically controlled growing rods), this could potentially avoid serial anesthesia and wound-related complications associated to repetitive surgical elongations; and anterior vertebral body growth modulation allows correction of deformity while preserving motion especially in juvenile cases with moderate curvature.