Methylmethacrylate as an adjunct in spinal instrumentation.

Sixteen patients with scoliosis were treated with Harrington-rod instrumentation supplemented by methylmethacrylate fixation at the distraction sites to reduce the possibility of dislodgement of a hook due to inferior bone stock or the patients' inability to cooperate postoperatively because of mental insufficiency or involuntary-movement disorders. Follow-up ranged from six to thirty-eight months (average, fourteen and one-half months). There were no complications related to the use of methylmethacrylate in these patients.