A Patent was awarded for Dr. Kiester’s Scoliosis Treatment Device.

August 2011

Dr. Douglas Kiester’s surgically implanted device that treats scoliosis in children by internally stretching the spine was awarded a US patent in July of 2011. With this device in place, a child’s spine can “grow” (be lengthen) in the doctor’s office without sedation or anesthetic to either accommodate growth or improve the scoliosis. This device is not available yet in the United States, It has preformed well in international placement in patients.

Scoliosis (a sideward bending of the spine) in adolescent children is called Adolescent Scoliosis. Dr. Kiester has shown with animal models, computer 3D radiographic analysis, specimen analysis, using 3D computer simulations, and surgical experience that adolescent scoliosis is mechanically caused by a tight ligament that doesn’t stretch enough to allow for normal growth. The spinous processes are bony prominences that you can touch in the middle of your back. Scoliosis is cuased by the ligament these spinous processes together. Dr. Kiester’s device allows a doctor to stretch those ligaments slowly, by degrees, over time.

Adult scoliosis is very different. It is caused by a rotated disk that collapses during aging. Sometimes re-elevating the disk with a fusion done through a small incision from the side is enough to correct the problem. Sometimes the best answer is to leave the scoliosis alone. Sometimes it is necessary to use rods and screws from the back to correct the curve.

Dr. Kiester has said, “I use very special Swiss-made screws. The screw thread is based on the same principles as an ice skate. Most screw threads have a sharp, pointed edge. The screws I use have a flat-topped thread, where the edges of the flat top are sharpened like an ice skate. This allows the thread to be shorter. The shorter thread makes the core of the screw larger for the same-sized screw. Thus my screws are stronger, resist being pulled-out better, resist being push sideways better, and will stay inside the bone better than other screws when they are inserted. This also decreases the risk of damaging a nerve during surgery.”

"The real key to adult scoliosis surgery, though, is to plan, cut and prepare the spine so that a good correction is achieved with little to no pressure on the screws. This results in much better patient outcomes."

Dr. Kiester sees patients in Costa Mesa and at the UCI medical center campus in orange. His phone number for appointments is (714) 456-7012 for UCI and 949 515-5210 for the Costa Mesa office.