Very young patients with spinal deformity pose major treatment challenges due to their potential to develop major spinal deformity with ongoing growth. Understanding the nature of a scoliosis and detecting patients with potentially serious deformity early may allow for life-changing deformity correction. The role of motion-preserving surgical techniques for young patients with stapling, banding and the potential for recently introduced “growing” rods systems, which allow for indirect deformity correction, has changed the potential for meaningful intervention in these at-risk patients. By re-expanding the spinal column and modulating its growth, major fusion surgery can possibly be delayed until the major overall patient growth has been completed. University of Washington doctor Theodore Wagner and others address recent results reported with these techniques. From the Series:Fifth Annual Harborview Spine Symposium