Houston Scoliosis and Spine Institute
Hemi-vertebrae Resection
Patient History: 29-year-old male with back pain and right buttock/leg pain. He also experienced right foot numbness. His imaging revealed a congenital anomaly of the low back bone formation. The patient had what is known medically as a hemivertebra. This caused a portion of his spine to grow faster than its counterpart that created an imbalance of his lower spine.
Surgery: Patient underwent L3 hemi-vertebrae resection with T11-S1 posterior scoliosis correction, spinal fusion and instrumentation using pedicle screws and rods. Additionally, a nerve decompression at L5-S1 was performed for his leg pain.
Outcome: Patient did well with surgery. There were no hospital complications. He was discharged 4 days after surgery. The patient has mild sacroiliac joint pain intermittently.