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The normal spinal column is straight when we look at it from the front: scoliosis is an abnormal curvature of the spine in the frontal plane.
There are various types of scoliosis but the most common one is called Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS). It affects patients between 10 and 18 years of age and usually becomes apparent during periods of rapid growth.
There are significant efforts being made toward identifying the cause of Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis, but to date there are no well-accepted causes for this particular type of scoliosis.
Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: Scoliosis Research Society - www.srs.org
Treatment is based on the risk of curve progression and falls into three main categories:
You will come to theNufffield Orthopaedic Centre (NOC) for your pre-operative assessment, but your surgery will take place at Oxford Children's Hospital on the John Radcliffe Hospital (JR) site.
Please see Patient information