Titanium Rib Corrects Deformities of the Torso

A vertical expandable prosthetic titanium rib (VEPTR) implantable device is designed to mechanically stabilize and lengthen certain deformities of the spine and torso, allowing normal lung development and offering correction for some spinal conditions.

The VEPTR is designed to mechanically stabilize and divert the thorax to improve respiration and lung growth in infantile and juvenile patients. The titanium rib gives the rib cage room to grow when the child's breastbone fails to support normal breathing and lung growth. During surgery, one or more devices are attached perpendicularly to the patient's natural ribs (superior attachment point) and to the more caudal ribs, a lumbar vertebra, or to the ilium (inferior attachment point). VEPTR can be implanted in children as young as three to six months old or even immediately following birth if the child is experiencing severe breathing problems. As the patient grows, the device is expanded or replaced about every six months. With each expansion, the device is lengthened about a centimeter. Once the spine fuses--typically between the ages of 10 and 12--the VEPTR is removed and the child may then have surgery to correct any spinal problems.

"The options to spread the ribs and correct the spine to help children were once quite limited within the realm of pediatric surgery,” says Frances A. Farley, M.D., chief of pediatric orthopedic surgery at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital (Ann Arbor, MI, USA). "Now with VEPTR, we're able to create room in the torso to allow the lungs to grow, and we're even able to control the scoliosis, or curvature of the spine.”

The VEPTR, developed by Synthes (Solothurn, Switzerland), is most often used for thoracic insufficiency syndrome (TIS), the inability of the thorax to support normal respiration or lung growth. It occurs in young children with severe rib and chest wall malformations often associated with scoliosis.


Related Links:
C.S. Mott Children's Hospital
Synthes