What is anterior spinal surgery?
This surgery is for patients who have a moderate to large scoliosis that continues to worsen. It usually involves the lower thoracic spine and the upper lumbar spine. While asleep on your side, an incision is made on your side and the lowermost rib is removed. Some of the discs are removed and bone graft is placed in the disc spaces between the vertebrae involved to fuse them together. A single screw is placed into each vertebra bone (usually 5 or 6 screws). A single titanium rod is then attached to the screws, which carefully corrects and stabilises the curve. A machine called a ‘cell saver’ is used to collect any blood lost, which is then filtered by the machine and given back to the patient.