Lawrence Rinksy, MD, performed an early onset scoliosis procedure using magnetic rods, KSAT ABC 12 reports.
Here are four things to know:
1. Dr. Rinksy is a board-certified pediatric orthopedic surgeon at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif..
2. Dr. Rinksy used a rod that grows along with an external magnetic. The rod can be lengthened every two to three months to accommodate the patient's growing spine.
3. The process takes a few minutes and involves almost no recovery time.
4. Magnetic growing rods will not eliminate the need for early onset scoliosis surgery, as they must be replaced when they have exhausted their expansion capabilities.. With these rods, however, patients typically undergo three replacement operations, compared to 12 or more surgeries with the standard procedure.