[Long-term follow-up of lung function and standing height following scoliosis surgery in children and adolescents].

Previous investigations have reported conflicting results on the development of lung function and body height after operative correction of scoliosis at young age. Partly the number of patients or the duration of observation were relatively small. 120 patients were followed for at least 10 years (10-14, average 12 years) after surgical correction of scoliosis at the age of 18.2 +/- 6.8 years. Standing height and vital capacity were measured 1, 2, 5 and 10 years after operation. Height was expressed as percentile for age and vital capacity as % expected for actual height. The primary diagnoses were idiopathic scoliosis (n = 84, average Cobb angle 90 degrees), congenital scoliosis (n = 20, 83 degrees), poliomyelitis (n = 10, 128 degrees), neurofibromatosis (n = 6, 101 degrees). We found an initial decrease in lung function after 1 year, which was probably due to post-operative immobilization and increased by the gain in body height achieved by the operation. During the rest of the observation period a significant (p less than 0.05) increase of vital capacity (% of expected for actual height) was observed. The gain was maximal for idiopathic scoliosis (+6%). In congenital scoliosis body height %ile and relative vital capacity appeared fixed at the preoperative level. Interestingly patients with an initial vital capacity below 50% expected (n = 29) or preoperative Cobb angle above 90 degrees showed the best results. They also lacked the initial deterioration of lung function in the first postoperative year and had a significant gain of vital capacity (+14%) over 10 years.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)