Introduction and purpose: The relationship between congenital heart disease and the increased prevalence of scoliosis is well known, although the same cannot be said about the etiology of scoliosis in these patients. Although thoracotomy is often associated to scoliosis, median sternotomy has so far not been identified as an etiological agent. he purpose of the study is to determine if patients with congenital heart disease who are subjected to a median sternotomy show a higher prevalence of spine deformities.

Materials and methods: A retrospective review is made of patients operated on for congenital heart disease through median sternotomy before the age of 8, assessing the development of spine deformities. Simple chest radiographs of 128 patients were studied once they reached skeletal maturity and it was observed that they presented no spinal or costal deformities before surgery.

Results: The prevalence of scoliosis was 34.3%; 16 of these patients (12.5%) had curves of more than 20° and 33 (25.8%) had thoracic kyphosis of less than 20°. Patients operated on before the age of 18 months had a significantly higher risk to develop scoliosis as compared with those treated later (odds ratio: 3.48; p=0.016). The development of scoliosis was not related with the type of cardiac malformation present.

Conclusions: There is a high prevalence of scoliosis in patients subjected to a median sternotomy for a congenital heart pathology. The prevalence of scoliosis increases in patients operated on at younger ages.