On 6 December, DePuy Spine announced the launch of the Expedium Neuromuscular system, a new modular system of pre-contoured rods and proximal connectors, open and closed iliac screw designs and wires, designed to help surgeons address spinal and pelvic deformity in patients with neuromuscular scoliosis.
“Surgery for neuromuscular scoliosis is very challenging in that most cases require correction of a coronal, sagittal and axial deformity, including pelvic obliquity. This deformity can occur in patients with little or no muscle tone or in those with severe muscle tone and spasticity due to diseases like muscular dystrophy or cerebral palsy,” said Randal R Betz, a pediatric orthopaedic spine surgeon from Philadelphia, USA. “The Expedium Neuromuscular system was designed with these patients in mind.”
According to the Scoliosis Research Society, incidence of neuromuscular scoliosis ranges from 25% in people with cerebral palsy to 90% in people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Surgery is performed in these patients to prevent further curve progression, improve sitting balance and tolerance, reduce pain and improve quality of life.
“The modularity of the Expedium Neuromuscular system allows for easy fixation to the pelvis without the need for intra-operative modification of implants or complex rod bending. It also allows for the cantilever correction of severe pelvic obliquity and spinal deformity that was previously corrected with the unit rod,” said Kirk Dabney, orthopaedic surgeon and associate director of the Cerebral Palsy Program at the Alfred I. duPont Institute in Wilmington, Delaware, USA.
