A new Center of Excellence in California is outpatient and focused on the needs of children. The Orthopaedic Institute for Children (OIC) has dedicated a new Pediatric Scoliosis Center designed to diagnose and treat scoliosis so children with this deformity can lead normal, happy and productive lives. This is the third Center of Excellence OIC which has been dedicated in less than 12 months.
Orthopaedic Institute for Children: New Pediatric Scoliosis Center
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According to the November 30, 2016 news release, Congresswoman Karen Bass (D) of the 37th district was on hand to participate in the ribbon-cutting ceremony along with OIC President and CEO Anthony A. Scaduto, M.D., and other physicians and clinicians from the center.
“OIC’s work with the children of Los Angeles is another great example of what makes Los Angeles such a caring and wonderful community, ” said Congresswoman Bass. “Their physicians, researchers and entire staff know that children are our future; and we should all do everything we can to give every child a chance to live out his or her life in health and happiness. This new center is just one more ingredient toward making that a reality.”
“It is important to create comfortable environments where children and their parents can interact with others who have a similar diagnosis and where physicians and nurses can provide 100 percent of their focus in a given clinical area, ” said Dr. Scaduto. “We believe that this approach leads to optimum patient care and a greatly improved patient and family experience.”
“Scoliosis is a treatable condition, and it should not be allowed to become a disabling one, ” said Dr. Scaduto, whose specialty is scoliosis and spinal deformity. “Treatment options range from observation and orthopaedic bracing to (in some cases) surgery. When treated it should not affect the child’s ability to lead a normal life.”
Asked about one challenge in pulling this together, Dr. Scaduto told OTW, “Dedicating a large clinical space to exclusively care for children with scoliosis required a major financial commitment from our organization. We felt strongly that children with spinal deformities deserve a dedicated environment where state-of-the art equipment and an entire team of scoliosis experts are available simultaneously.”
“The OIC scoliosis center offers concentrated expertise in physical therapy, orthotics, pulmonology and child life services, and our surgeons have helped develop novel techniques for the care of complex scoliosis deformity. Recent clinical research conducted by our scoliosis team has led to improved osteotomy techniques and less blood loss. Our current research projects include federally funded studies on the genetics of scoliosis and a smart implant coating that reduces surgical site infections.”
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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