flatback syndrome

Flatback syndrome is a problem that develops in some patients treated with Harrington rod instrumentation, where the rod extends down into lower part of the lumbar spine.

Advances in surgical techniques and technology in the late 1990s were eventually able, in most cases, to correct scoliosis without causing flatback syndrome, leading to the gradual phasing out of the Harrington Rod.

The major drawback of the Harrington Rod is that it straightens out the normal front to back curvature of the segment of the spine that is fused, which in many patients results in a flat back deformity, also known as "flatback syndrome".

As exemplified by Pecina and Dapic in the European Spine Journal (February 2007), flatback syndrome is not inevitable and does not happen to every person with a low Harrington rod instrumented fusion - there are many people who have had Harrington rods for decades with no adverse effects.