MAGEC (MAGnetic Expansion Control) Spinal Growing Rod for Early Onset Scoliosis

"Bracing won’t assist a 2- to 7-year-old child with curvature in excess of 50 or 60 degrees,” said Jeffrey Hanway, M.D., orthopaedic surgeon and sports medicine physician, vice chair for clinical affairs, Division of Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine, at Children’s National, and chief surgical officer at Pediatric Specialists of Virginia. “If a child is a candidate for growing rods, I’m not aware of any contraindications for MAGEC. I envision this system becoming the benchmark for growing rods.”

Like traditional growing rods, MAGEC is a means, not an end — the system provides a bridge treatment spanning the years between the initial lengthening surgery and spinal fusion.

MAGEC growing rods can correct or control severe curvatures of the spine. Traditional treatment uses rods that require surgeries about twice a year to manually lengthen the rod while a child is still growing. With the growing rod, the rod is magnetically controlled with the external remote control, so our orthopaedic surgeons can lengthen the rod in a non-invasive way during a child’s course of treatment.

Our orthopaedic surgeons lengthen the rod every three to four months in the office using the electronic remote control. The procedure takes only a few minutes. We monitor the scoliosis and treatment progress with radiographs.

The benefits include fewer surgeries, less time for the procedure, and less pain.

The MAGEC rod is approved for children with scoliosis greater than 50 degrees in magnitude and under 10 years of age.

Following MAGEC’s approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in February 2014, surgeons at Children’s National performed two of the first 15 MAGEC implantations in the country, and the first in the greater Washington, D.C., area. Our physicians continue to use this groundbreaking treatment option with children who experience early onset scoliosis.

For more information, call 202-476-2112.