rarerelated tag: SpinrazaⓇ (nusinersen)

Surgery to correct kyphoscoliosis — a combination of two types of abnormal curvature of the spine — allows the successful delivery of Spinraza (nusinersen) into the spinal canal of children with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 1, a case series study shows. However, post-surgery complications occurred in all four described cases, with each child — who ranged in age from 3 to 7 — subsequently needing additional spinal surgeries. A five-year-old patient required six revision surgeries over five months.

These findings highlight the feasibility of kyphoscoliosis surgery in this patient subgroup, according to researchers, who note that these types of interventions are increasingly needed due to the prolonged survival of children with SMA given the availability of recent disease-modifying treatments. Given the risk of surgical and post-surgery complications and prolonged recovery, physicians should discuss, thoroughly, the risks and benefits of such procedures with each patient’s parents or caretakers before a decision is made, the researchers said.