The results of Milwaukee brace treatment for thoracic Scheuermann’s kyphosis
Kerem Kurt, İ Teoman Benli, Çağlar Koçer, Onat Üzümcügil, Bülent Ateş, Erbil Aydın
SSK Ankara Eğitim Hastanesi 1. Ortopedi ve Travmatoloji Kliniği
Keywords: Adolescent; braces; child; exercise therapy; kyphosis/ pathology/therapy; Scheuermann’s disease/therapy.
Abstract
Objectives: We evaluated the results of Milwaukee bracing in patients with Scheuermann’s kyphosis.
Patients and methods: Nineteen patients (5 girls, 14 boys; mean age 12.8 years) underwent Milwaukee brace treatment for thoracic Scheuermann’s kyphosis for a mean of 54.4 months (range 24 to 78 months) until the Risser sign became 5. Thoracic kyphosis angles were measured before and after the treatment and after a mean of 33.2 months. The patients were also evaluated in two age groups, namely 12 years or younger (n=10), and 13 years or above (n=9).
Results: The mean pretreatment thoracic kyphosis angle decreased from 61.2° to 45.8° in all the patients at the end of the treatment, with a mean correction rate of 25.2% (p<0.05). However, on final evaluations, all the patients manifested increased kyphosis angles that approached the pretreatment values (p>0.05). Nevertheless, 13 patients (68.4%) still had kyphosis within physiologic ranges or of mild severity (70°), with increased wedging in six. In addition, two adolescents (22.2%) were submitted to surgery for progressively increasing kyphosis (80° and 84°).
Conclusion: Our findings show that, with Milwaukee brace treatment, satisfactory results can be obtained in thoracic Scheuermann’s kyphosis (55° to 70°), especially in preadolescent patients.