British girl recovers after surgery for 104-degree scoliosis at Shanghai's Xinhua Hospital
The team selected direct correction and limited fusion to L4 in a twelve-year-old with rapidly progressing spinal deformity.
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A twelve-year-old girl from the United Kingdom was recovering after complex scoliosis surgery at Xinhua Hospital, affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. The August 5, 2025 account describes her July operation and early postoperative mobility.
Rapid progression despite bracing
The girl, known as Little D, had a spinal curvature of 104 degrees. Her condition had worsened rapidly despite wearing a brace. After unsuccessful efforts to obtain suitable treatment in Europe, her family sought help from Xinhua's Spine Center.
Assessment identified not only severe spinal curvature but also a prominent rib-hump deformity and restrictive respiratory dysfunction. The team determined that she needed immediate surgery. Professor Yang Junlin, the centre's director and lead surgeon, described the speed of progression as extremely rare in clinical practice.
Direct correction instead of prolonged traction
The team considered her sensitivity to pain and difficulty tolerating prolonged traction. It selected direct corrective surgery rather than the more commonly used halo-gravity traction approach.
The operation lasted four hours and used osteotomy and derotation techniques. The aim was to correct the severe deformity while retaining as much spinal flexibility as possible.
Surgeons stopped the fusion at L4 rather than extending it to L5. The report described this as preserving 20 percent more bending function compared with the traditional L5 endpoint. The achieved scoliosis correction was nearly 80 percent.
Early movement and support for the family
After surgery, Little D was eight centimetres taller. Within one week she had regained the ability to walk, bend and climb stairs.
Her family highlighted the hospital's rapid response, multidisciplinary approach and international patient services. Their feedback covered the preoperative discussions as well as postoperative support, including the professionalism and warmth of the care team. These observations accompanied the early recovery reported after her July operation.