The global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pediatric spinal care: A multi-centric study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected healthcare worldwide since December 2019. We aimed to identify the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on outpatient clinic and surgical volumes and peri-operative complications for pediatric spinal deformities patients. Methods: In this multi-center retrospective study, outpatient visits (in-person and virtual care) and pediatric spine surgeries volumes in four high-volume pediatric spine centers were compared between March and December 2019 and the same period in 2020. Peri-operative complications were collected and compared in the same periods. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and comparative analyses were performed. Results: During the 2020 study period, the outpatient visit (in-person and virtual care) volume decreased during local lockdown periods by 71% for new patients (p < 0.001) and 53% for returning patients (p = 0.03). Overall, for 2020, there was a 20% reduction in new patients (p = 0.001) and 21% decrease in returning patients (p < 0.001). During the pandemic, there was also 20% less overall surgical volume of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients undergoing primary posterior spinal fusion, with a 70% reduction during lockdown times (p < 0.001). Complication rate and profile were similar between periods. Conclusion: There was a significant decrease in outpatient pediatric spine outpatient visits, particularly new patients, which may increase the proportion of pediatric patients with spinal deformities that present late, meeting surgical indication. This, in combination with the reduction in surgical volume of AIS over the first year of the pandemic, could result in an extended waitlist for surgeries during years to come. Complication rate was similar for both periods, suggesting it is safe to continue elective pediatric spine surgery even in a time of a pandemic. Level of evidence: level IV.

Radiographic Outcome and Complication Rate of 34 Graduates After Treatment With Vertical Expandable Prosthetic Titanium Rib (VEPTR): A Single Center Report.

BACKGROUND: The final strategy for graduates from growth-sparing surgery is challenging. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the radiographic outcome and complications of patients with early onset scoliosis (EOS) who have graduated from vertical expandable prosthetic titanium rib (VEPTR) treatment, either undergoing final fusion surgery or following a nonfusion approach. METHODS: Final treatment for VEPTR graduates was divided in "VEPTR in situ without final fusion," "removal of VEPTR without final fusion," and "removal of VEPTR with instrumented final fusion." Radiographic evaluations included main coronal Cobb angle and main kyphosis pre and post VEPTR implantation, at the end of implant lengthening, after final fusion (if applicable), and at latest follow-up. Complications during VEPTR treatment and in case of final fusion were reported. RESULTS: In total, 34 VEPTR graduates were included; 17 underwent final fusion surgery, and 17 followed a nonfusion strategy. Average coronal Cobb angle before VEPTR implantation was 70±23 degrees (range, 21 to 121 degrees), and 65±22 degrees (range, 17 to 119 degrees) at latest follow-up. Average main kyphosis angle was 53±27 degrees (range, 6 to 137 degrees) before VEPTR, and 69±34 degrees (range, 10 to 150 degrees) at latest follow-up. There was a 41% complication rate with final fusion surgery. CONCLUSIONS: There is a high complication rate during VEPTR treatment and with final fusion surgery. The stiffness of the spine and thorax allow for only limited correction when performing a final instrumented spondylodesis. Avoiding final fusion may be a viable alternative in case of good coronal and sagittal alignment. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV-therapeutic.

Early-onset Scoliosis: Contemporary Decision-making and Treatment Options.

Early-onset scoliosis (EOS) describes a wide array of diagnoses and deformities exposed to growth. This potentially life-threatening condition is still 1 of the biggest challenges in pediatric orthopaedics. The enlightenment of Bob Campbell's thoracic insufficiency syndrome concept and the negative impact of the earlier short and straight spine fusion approach on respiratory function and survival have fueled the evolution of EOS care. Despite all the progress made, growth-friendly spine surgery remains to be a burden to patients and caregivers. Even down-sized implants and remote-controlled noninvasive rod expansions do not omit unexpected returns to the operating room: failures of foundations, rod breakage, difficulties to keep the sagittal balance, progressive transverse plane deformities, stiffening, and the need for final instrumented fusion are still common. However, past experience and the current multitude of surgical strategies and implants have sharpened the decision-making process, patients with thoracic insufficiency syndrome require earliest possible vertical expandable prosthetic titanium ribs application. Flexible deformities below 60 degrees, with normal spinal anatomy and without thoracic involvement, benefit from serial Mehta casting which revived as a long available but not-used strategy. In case of progression, standard double growing rods or-if available, affordable, and applicable-magnetically controlled motorized rods provide deformity control and growth promotion. Shilla growth-guiding technique is a less costly alternative. Its lack of stiff lengthening boxes or actuators may be beneficial in difficult deformities. Anterior convex flexible tethering promises benefits of sparing the trunk muscles and keeping mobility. However, this step towards a true nonfusion concept has yet to stand the test of broad clinical application.

Patella instability in children and adolescents.

Patellar instabilities are the most common knee pathologies during growth. Congenital dislocations are rare. Extensive, early soft tissue releases relocate the extensor mechanism and may enable normal development of the femoro-patellar anatomy.Conservative management is the preferred strategy after a 'first-time' traumatic dislocation. In cases with concomitant anatomical predisposing factors such as trochlear dysplasia, malalignment, malrotation or ligamentous laxity, surgical reconstruction must be considered. The same applies to recurrent dislocations with pain, a sense of instability or re-dislocations which may also lead to functional compensatory mechanisms (quadriceps-avoiding gait in knee extension) or cartilaginous lesions with subsequent patello-femoral osteoarthritis. The decision-making process guiding surgical re-alignment includes analysis with standard radiographs and MRI of the trochlear groove, joint cartilage and medial patello-femoral ligament (MPFL). Careful evaluation of dynamic and static stabilisers is essential: the medial patello-femoral ligament provides stability during the first 20° of flexion, and the trochlear groove thereafter.Excessive femoral anteversion, general ligamentous laxity with increased femoro-tibial rotation, patella alta and increased distance between the tibial tuberosity and the trochlear groove must also be taken into account and surgically corrected.In cases with ongoing dislocations during skeletal immaturity, soft tissue procedures must suffice: reconstruction of the medial patello-femoral ligament as a standalone procedure or in conjuction with more complex distal realignment of the quadriceps mechanism may lead to a permanent stable result, or at least buys time until a definitive bony procedure is performed. Cite this article: Hasler CC, Studer D. Patella instability in children and adolescents. EFORT Open Rev 2016;1:160-166. DOI: 10.1302/2058-5241.1.000018.

Metamorphosis of human lumbar vertebrae induced by VEPTR growth modulation and stress shielding.

INTRODUCTION: Distraction-based spinal growth modulation by growing rods or vertical expandable prosthetic titanium ribs (VEPTRs) is the mainstay of instrumented operative strategies to correct early onset spinal deformities. In order to objectify the benefits, it has become common sense to measure the gain in spine height by assessing T1-S1 distance on anteroposterior (AP) radiographs. However, by ignoring growth changes on vertebral levels and by limiting measurement to one plane, valuable data is missed regarding the three-dimensional (3D) effects of growth modulation. This information might be interesting when it comes to final fusion or, even more so, when the protective growing implants are removed and the spine re-exposed to physiologic forces at the end of growth. METHODS: The goal of this retrospective radiographic study was to assess the growth modulating impact of year-long, distraction-based VEPTR treatment on the morphology of single vertebral bodies. We digitally measured lumbar vertebral body height (VBH) and upper endplate depth (VBD) at the time of the index procedure and at follow-up in nine patients with rib-to-ileum constructs (G1) spanning an anatomically normal lumbar spine. Nine patients with congenital thoracic scoliosis and VEPTR rib-to-rib constructs, but uninstrumented lumbar spines, served as controls (G2). All had undergone more than eight half-yearly VEPTR expansions. A Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for statistical comparison of initial and follow-up VBH, VBD and height/depth (H/D) ratio (significance level 0.05). RESULTS: The average age was 7.1 years (G1) and 5.2 year (G2, p > 0.05) at initial surgery; the average overall follow-up time was 5.5 years (p = 1). In both groups, VBH increased significantly without a significant intergroup difference. Group 1 did not show significant growth in depth, whereas VBD increased significantly in the control group. As a consequence, the H/D ratio increased significantly in group 1 whereas it remained unchanged in group 2. The growth rate for height in mm/year was 1.4 (group 1) and 1.1 (group 2, p = 0.45), and for depth, it was -0.3 and 1.1 (p < 0.05), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: VEPTR growth modulating treatment alters the geometry of vertebral bodies by increasing the H/D ratio. We hypothesize that the implant-related deprivation from axial loads (stress-shielding) impairs anteroposterior growth. The biomechanical consequence of such slender vertebrae when exposed to unprotected loads in case of definitive VEPTR removal at the end of growth is uncertain.

An image-based method to automatically propagate bony landmarks: application to computational spine biomechanics.

In attempts to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of spinal injuries and spinal deformities, several experimental and numerical studies have been conducted to understand the biomechanical behavior of the spine. However, numerical biomechanical studies suffer from uncertainties associated with hard- and soft-tissue anatomies. Currently, these parameters are identified manually on each mesh model prior to simulations. The determination of soft connective tissues on finite element meshes can be a tedious procedure, which limits the number of models used in the numerical studies to a few instances. In order to address these limitations, an image-based method for automatic morphing of soft connective tissues has been proposed. Results showed that the proposed method is capable to accurately determine the spatial locations of predetermined bony landmarks. The present method can be used to automatically generate patient-specific models, which may be helpful in designing studies involving a large number of instances and to understand the mechanical behavior of biomechanical structures across a given population.

Axial suspension test to assess pre-operative spinal flexibility in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

INTRODUCTION: An accurate description of the biomechanical behavior of the spine is crucial for the planning of scoliotic surgical correction as well as for the understanding of degenerative spine disorders. The current clinical assessments of spinal mechanics such as side-bending or fulcrum-bending tests rely on the displacement of the spine observed during motion of the patient. Since these tests focused solely on the spinal kinematics without considering mechanical loads, no quantification of the mechanical flexibility of the spine can be provided. METHODS: A spinal suspension test (SST) has been developed to simultaneously monitor the force applied on the spine and the induced vertebral displacements. The system relies on cervical elevation of the patient and orthogonal radiographic images are used to measure the position of the vertebras. The system has been used to quantify the spinal flexibility on five AIS patients. RESULTS: Based on the SST, the overall spinal flexibility varied between 0.3 °/Nm for the patient with the stiffer curve and 2 °/Nm for the less rigid curve. A linear correlation was observed between the overall spinal flexibility and the change in Cobb angle. In addition, the segmental flexibility calculated for five segments around the apex was 0.13 ± 0.07 °/Nm, which is similar to intra-operative stiffness measurements previously published. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, the SST seems suitable to provide pre-operative information on the complex functional behavior and stiffness of spinal segments under physiological loading conditions. Such tools will become increasingly important in the future due to the ever-increasing complexity of the surgical instrumentation and procedures.

Back pain during growth.

It is wrong to believe that back pain only burdens adults: the yearly incidence during growth ranges from 10-20%, continuously increasing from childhood to adolescence. Rapid growth-related muscular dysbalance and insufficiency, poor physical condition in an increasingly sedentary adolescent community or - vice versa - high level sports activities, account for the most prevalent functional pain syndromes. In contrast to adults the correlation of radiographic findings with pain is high: the younger the patient, the higher the probability to establish a rare morphologic cause such as benign or malignant tumours, congenital malformations and infections. In children younger than 5 years old, the likelihood is more than 50%. The following red flags should lower the threshold for a quick in-depth analysis of the problem: Age of the patient <5 years, acute trauma, functional limitation for daily activities, irradiating pain, loss of weight, duration >4 weeks, history of tumour, exposition to tuberculosis, night pain and fever. High level sport equals a biomechanical field test which reveals the biologic individual response of the growing spine to the sports-related forces. Symptomatic or asymptomatic inhibitory or stimulatory growth disturbances like Scheuermann disease, scoliosis or fatigue fractures represent the most frequent pathomorphologies. They usually occur at the disk-growth plate compound: intraspongious disk herniation, diminuition of anterior growth with vertebral wedging and apophyseal ring fractures often occur when the biomechanical impacts exceed the mechanical resistance of the cartilaginous endplates. Spondylolysis is a benign condition which rarely becomes symptomatic and responds well to conservative measures. Associated slippage of L5 on S1 is frequent but rarely progresses. The pubertal spinal growth spurt is the main risk factor for further slippage, whereas sports activity - even at a high level - is not. Therefore, the athlete should only be precluded from training if pain persists or in case of high grade slips. Perturbance of the sagittal profile with increase of lumbar lordosis, flattening of the thoracic spine and retroflexion of the pelvis with hamstrings contractures are strong signs for a grade IV olisthesis or spondyloptosis with subsequent lumbosacral kyphosis. Idiopathic scoliosis is not related to pain unless it is a marked (thoraco-) lumbar curve or if there is an underlying spinal cord pathology. Chronic back pain is an under recognised entity characterised by its duration (>3 months or recurrence within 3 months) and its social impacts such as isolation and absence from school or work. It represents an independent disease, uncoupled from any initial trigger. Multimodal therapeutic strategies are more successful than isolated, somatising orthopaedic treatment. Primary and secondary preventive active measures for the physically passive adolescents, regular sports medical check-up's for the young high level athletes, the awareness for the rare but potentially disastrous pathologies and the recognition of chronic pain syndromes are the cornerstones for successful treatment of back pain during growth.

A brief overview of 100 years of history of surgical treatment for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

The history of surgical correction for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis reaches back about 100 years: the natural course of progressive, crippling and sometimes even life-threatening deformities which could not be controlled by external means called for effectual, invasive procedures. Hibbs 1911 aimed at halting progression by long, uninstrumented fusions. However, the lack of true correction, long rehabilitation times, high pseudarthrosis and infection rates, and a fusion mass which bent further once exposed to gravity again were not satisfying. The transition from slowing progression to halting progression and truly correcting the deformity lasted almost another half a century: Paul Harrington, confronted with many scoliotic polio patients, successfully introduced a hook-rod system for concave-distraction and convex-compression at the end of the 1950s. Many implant failures, a still-considerable pseudarthrosis rate, flattening of the sagittal profile and the lack of true three-dimensional (3D) correction were the shortcomings. In the 1970s the Frenchmen Cotrel and Dubousset took scoliosis surgery to the next level by introducing a versatile hook system and curve-pattern-adapted correction modes. The basics of the so-called derotation-manoeuvre consists in strategic distribution of the anchors along the curve, bending the rod accordingly, and rotating it back into the sagittal plane. The overall correction, stability and the fusion rates improved significantly. However, the effect on the sagittal and transverse plane were still limited. Lately, a better biomechanical understanding and bilateral, polysegmental strong three-column fixation with pedicle screw has become the benchmark method: in conjunction with posterior release techniques, osteotomies or even vertebral column resections for severe cases, it allows better 3D control (vertebral column manipulation), faster rehabilitation and better patient satisfaction.

Growth guidance of angular lower limb deformities using a one-third two-hole tubular plate.

PURPOSE: The eight-plate system for angular deformity correction is well known, reliable and effective at any age during growth. Due to high implant costs, we sought to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of a less expensive alternative. METHODS: Between 2006 and 2011, 41 children with angular deformities were managed using a two-hole one-third tubular plate in cases where an eight plate would normally be indicated. Inclusion criteria in this retrospective study were: genu valgum and genu varum. X-ray documentation was performed before and after surgery and patients were followed clinically every 3 months after surgery. The cost per implant was 361.40 Sfr (Swiss Francs) compared to the eight plate at 737 Sfr. RESULTS: Mean time for correction was 13 months. A mean LDFA/MPTA after correction of 89.9°/86.8° was recorded, as well as a mean correction angle of 6.8°/6.6°. The complication rate was 6.6 % (one superficial wound infection and one insufficient correction in an older child). These results compare favourably with published data on the eight plate. CONCLUSION: The two hole one-third tubular plate seems to be a clinically and also cost effective alternative to the eight plate. Full deformity correction is gained for a fraction of the cost. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III.

Operative treatment for spinal deformities in cerebral palsy.

The higher the functional impairment, the more likely patients with cerebral palsy (cP) are to develop a scoliotic deformity. This is usually long-sweeping, C-shaped, and progressive in nature, since the causes of the deformity, such as muscular weakness, imbalance, and osteoporosis, persist through adulthood. In contrast to idiopathic scoliosis, not only is the spine deformed, the patient is also sick. This multimorbidity warrants a multidisciplinary approach with close involvement of the caregivers from the beginning. Brace treatment is usually ineffective or intolerable in light of the mostly stiff and severe deformities and the poor nutritional status. The pros and cons of surgical correction need to weighed up when pelvic obliquity, subsequent loss of sitting balance, pressure sores, and pain due to impingement of the rib cage on the ileum become issues. General risks of, for example, pulmonary or urogenital infections, pulmonary failure, the need for a tracheostoma, permanent home ventilation, and death add to the particular surgery-related hazards, such as excessive bleeding, surgical site infections, pseudarthrosis, implant failure, and dural tears with leakage of cerebrospinal fluid. The overall complication rate averages around 25 %. From an orthopedic perspective, stiffness, marked deformities including sagittal profile disturbances and pelvic obliquity, as well as osteoporosis are the main challenges. In nonambulatory patients, long fusions from T2/T3 with forces distributed over all segments, low-profile anchors in areas of poor soft tissue coverage (sublaminar bands, wires), and strong lumbosacropelvic modern screw fixation in combination with meticulous fusion techniques (facetectomies, laminar decortication, use of local autologous bone) and hemostasis can be employed to keep the rate of surgical and implant-related complications at an acceptably low level. Excessive posterior release techniques, osteotomies, or even vertebrectomies in cases of very severe short-angled deformity mostly prevent anterior one- or two-stage releases. Despite improved operative techniques and implants with predictable and satisfactory deformity corrections, the comorbidities and quality-of-life related issues demand a thorough preoperative, multidisciplinary decision-making process that takes ethical and economic aspects into consideration.

Current concepts of leg lengthening.

Any lower limb discrepancy may be equalised by conservative means (insoles, prosthesis and orthosis). However, their long-term acceptance is low in regard to function, costs, expenditure and appearance. Timely epiphysiodesis is the best option in uniplanar deformities with adequate remaining growth and for patients whose predicted final body height is above the 50th percentile. However, many patients present late or with multi-planar deformities, which warrant more sophisticated operative approaches. The history of surgical bone lengthening comprises 100 exciting years of struggling, development and ongoing learning. The initial strategy of acute or rapid incremental distraction had lasted almost half a century until Ilizarov recognised the benefits of biological periosteum-preserving osteotomies and incremental lengthening at slow rates (1 mm/day) at a 4 × 0.25-mm daily rhythm, well appreciated as callotasis. In parallel, ring and wire constructs made complex three-dimensional axial, translational and rotational bone moulding possible. Taylor Spatial Frames-built on hexapod strut-linked platform technology as known from flight simulators-took limb correction to a more reliable, more precise and aesthetical level, all the more that the whole process became web-based. It represents state-of-the-art methodology and technology for complex, multi-plane deformities. Due to the significant risk of secondary malalignment, indications for lengthening by unilateral fixation have shrunken to moderate amounts of length disparity and uni- to bi-planar deformities in patients with still open physes. Mechanical or motorised, minimally invasively placed nails prevent muscle fixation and, therefore, ease rehabilitation, increase patient comfort and potentially shorten the overall time of sick leave and refrain from sports activities. Hence, they offer a valuable alternative for low-grade complexity situations. It remains to be proved if the significantly higher implant costs are compensated by lower treatment costs. Overall, limb lengthening, particularly in combination with multi-planar deformity correction, can still be an arduous endeavour. In any case, wise judgement of the patient's deformity, medical and biological situation, psychosocial environment, selection of the appropriate method and hardware, as well as meticulous operating technique by an experienced surgeon are the cornerstones of successful outcomes.

Intramedullary leg lengthening with a motorized nail.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: In the last decade, intramedullary limb lengthening has become a viable alternative to traditional external systems. We retrospectively analyzed the use of an intramedullary motorized nail (Fitbone) in a consecutive series of 32 patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: During the period September 2006 to December 2008, 32 consecutive patients with a median age of 17 (IQR: 15-19) years were treated with a fully implantable, motorized intramedullary lengthening device (Fitbone). The median leg length discrepancy was 35 (IQR: 30-44) mm at the femur (n = 21) and 28 (IQR: 25-30) mm at the tibia (n = 11). RESULTS: Leg lengthening was successful in 30 of 32 cases, with no residual relevant discrepancy (± 5 mm). No intraoperative complications were observed. The consolidation index was significantly different (p = 0.04) between femoral lengthening (mean 35 days/cm) and tibial lengthening (mean 48 days/cm) but did not depend on age older/younger than 16 or previous operations at the affected site. 3 problems, 3 obstacles, and 4 complications (3 minor, 1 major) were encountered in 8 patients, 5 of which were implant-associated. INTERPRETATION: This technique even allows correction in patients with multiplanar deformities. Compared to external devices, intramedullary systems provide comfort and reduce complication rates, give improved cosmetic results, and lead to fast rehabilitation since percutaneous, transmuscular fixation is prevented. This results in reasonable overall treatment costs despite the relatively high costs of implants.

Arthroscopic mobilization of the hip joint in children with aseptic necrosis of the femur head.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the ability of arthroscopic mobilization of the hip to improve restricted range of motion after failed conservative therapy (level IV) of patient with aseptic necrosis of the femoral head. We examined 11 patients (eight male, three female). The average age at follow-up was 13 years (8-17 years). All 11 patients suffered from idiopathic femur head necrosis (M. Perthes). A minimum 1-year follow-up revealed an average increase of hip motion of 20 degrees of flexion, 15 degrees of abduction (P=0.007), 30 degrees of adduction (P=0.03), 15 degrees of external rotation, and 20 degrees of internal rotation. Arthroscopic hydraulic hip distension with postoperative physiotherapy in a brace under epidural anesthesia of the hip joint leads to an increased range of motion of the affected hip and allows additional intraarticular assessment of the joint. Whether the arthroscopic findings will alter the treatment and prognosis of future patients has to be established with further studies.

Objective compliance of adolescent girls with idiopathic scoliosis in a dynamic SpineCor brace.

PURPOSE: Dynamic SpineCor was designed to overcome the disadvantages of rigid orthoses-bulkiness, physical constraint and warming-and to improve the acceptance and compliance as limiting factors of brace treatment. Those theoretical benefits have not been proved by compliance studies yet. METHODS: SpineCor braces of 12 adolescent scoliotic girls were equipped with flexible temperature loggers, which were sandwiched between gel foam and the brace's pelvic base. Patients and parents were blinded for the observation period of 14 days and gave post-hoc consent. The logger yielded 672 time-stamped values at 30-min intervals. Pilot testing revealed values beyond the 30°C threshold as indicative for brace wear. RESULTS: The average overall compliance (% wearing hours/prescribed 23 h) was 54% ± 22.3 (range, 11.8-95.8%). The youngest patients (aged 10-12 years) were significantly more compliant than the others (P < 0.05). Most patients had a scattered wearing pattern: one was a day-wearer, one a night-wearer and only the two high adherers showed a consistent daily pattern. There was no significant difference between weekdays, weekdays and weekends, nor between day and night wear. CONCLUSION: The current study showed that the compliance of patients in a dynamic SpineCor is as limited as in a conventional brace. This is in line with earlier data on patients' SpineCor and rigid brace acceptance evaluated by a questionnaire and on temperature logging in rigid braces.

Intraoperative monitoring of motor-evoked potentials in children undergoing spinal surgery.

STUDY DESIGN: Clinical case series. OBJECTIVE: To study the combined use of modifications of stimulation methods and adjustments of anesthetic regimens on the reliability of motor-evoked potential (MEP) monitoring in a large group of children undergoing spinal surgery. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Monitoring of MEPs is advocated during spinal surgery, but systematic data from children are sparse. METHODS: A total of 134 consecutive procedures in 108 children <18 years of age were analyzed. MEPs were elicited by transcranial electrical stimulation (TES) and supplemented by temporal and spatial facilitation. The standard anesthesia regimen consisted of propofol, nitrous oxide, and remifentanil. Propofol was replaced with ketamine if no reliable MEPs could be recorded. In children <6 years of age, a ketamine-based anesthesia was used. RESULTS: With temporal facilitation alone, reliable MEPs were obtained in 78% (105 of 134) of the procedures and, if combined with spatial facilitation, in 96% (129 of 134) of the procedures. Reliable MEPs were documented in 98% (111 of 113) of children >6 years and in 86% (18 of 21) in children <6 years of age. CONCLUSIONS: Combining spatial facilitation with a TES protocol improved monitoring of corticospinal motor pathways during spinal surgery in children. A ketamine-based anesthetic technique was preferred in children <6 years of age.