Boston thoracic brace in the treatment of idiopathic scoliosis. Initial correction.

The Boston thoracic brace, i.e., a Boston brace with axillary support, was used to treat thoracic scoliosis in 44 patients. The mean initial correction for curves with the apex at T8-T9 was 15.9 degrees +/- 6.1 degrees (54%). This was a great and significant improvement over results obtained with both the Boston brace and the Boston Milwaukee brace. This degree of correction confirms earlier observations that the increased efficiency of the brace outweighs the disadvantages of the axillary component and encourages further efforts in the direction of nonsurgical treatment of the early stages of scoliosis.