The dangers of congenital scoliosis, timely prevention to reduce complications

Congenital scoliosis is congenital so there is no good prevention method. The most important thing is to detect it early and treat it, but many parents do not pay attention to it, which leads to some complications. Parents should pay more attention to their children's backs and see if the treatment is appropriate.

1. Complications

Patients with congenital scoliosis may have many other malformations, among which the most common are abnormalities of the urogenital system, such as single kidney, double ureters, crossed kidney ectopic position, urinary tract obstruction, etc. In addition, they are often accompanied by many other abnormalities, such as congenital heart disease, Spregel's malformation, Klippell Feil malformation, Goldenhar syndrome, complete or half sacral dysplasia, anal atresia, etc.

There are also many patients with spinal cord abnormalities, among which diastematomyelia and tethered cord syndrome are the most common. Therefore, patients with congenital scoliosis should be comprehensively examined to make a correct diagnosis. The most important thing for congenital scoliosis is to judge the progression of scoliosis, but sometimes it is difficult to make a decision at the initial diagnosis. For example, some patients with mixed deformities have multiple deformities at the same time, including hemivertebrae and bone bridges. Different parts of the deformity may offset each other's effects and make the spine balanced, and the possibility of progression is small. Therefore, close follow-up is needed to make a timely and correct assessment of the potential for deformity progression.

2. Symptoms and Signs

Scoliosis is classified according to the type of deformity, mainly into formation disorder, malsegmentation and mixed deformity. The most typical example of formation disorder is hemivertebra; the typical malsegmentation is bone bridge, that is, the bony connection of two or more vertebrae on one side or both sides; the mixed type means that the same patient has both of the above deformities.

The secondary chest deformity caused by scoliosis, if the deformity is severe, can cause a reduction in the volume of the chest and abdominal cavities, leading to visceral dysfunction, such as varying degrees of heart displacement, accelerated heart rate, decreased vital capacity, indigestion, and loss of appetite; nerve roots can cause traction symptoms on the convex side and compression symptoms on the concave side, and stimulation of the nerve roots can cause radiating pain in the chest and abdomen; there are also those who suffer from spinal cord dysfunction. Due to visceral dysfunction, the patient's whole body is often poorly developed, with a short trunk, weak physical strength, and poor cardiopulmonary reserve.

3. Preventive Care

1. When bathing, pay attention to whether the child's back is symmetrical and whether there is any local bulge. If in doubt, let the child bend forward, keep the knees straight, and stand on the opposite side of the child. If there is asymmetry, go to the hospital for an X-ray examination.

2. Check the skin for abnormal hair, pigmented spots or tumor-like protrusions. Abnormal hair often indicates deformities such as spina bifida, while pigmented spots or multiple subcutaneous lumps indicate the possibility of neurofibroma.

3. Check whether the child has gait abnormalities. If so, check whether the pelvis is level. Since different scoliosis occur at different ages, children should be checked regularly to avoid delays in diagnosis and treatment.