Traditional Growth-Friendly Implants Result in Improved Health-Related Quality of Life in Cerebral Palsy Patients with Early-Onset Scoliosis

<b>Background/Objectives</b>: In an effort to promote personalized medicine, the purpose was to (1) analyze health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in cerebral palsy (CP) patients treated with growth-friendly implants for early-onset scoliosis (EOS), and (2) compare traditional implants (traditional growing rods [TGRs], VEPTR) with magnetically controlled growing rods (MCGRs). <b>Methods</b>: Twenty-four patients with CP and EOS were identified from an international multicenter database. Mean EOSQ-24 domain and total scores and absolute differences from pre-index surgery to the minimum two-year follow-up were compared. <b>Results</b>: For all patients: Pre-index surgery EOSQ-24 total score: 48.9 vs. follow-up: 53.8. Follow-up scores were greater than at pre-op for 10 of the 12 domains, with the only significant difference being activities of daily living. Growth-friendly implants had positive absolute differences for 8 of the 12 domains and in the total score. Nine traditional implant patients had a pre-index surgery EOSQ-24 total of 45.8 points, while 15 MCGRs patients had a score of 50.8 points. At follow-up, traditional implant patients had greater scores than at pre-index surgery for all 12 domains, with total score of 55.1 points, and positive absolute differences for all domains (non-significant). MCGRs had greater scores than at pre-index surgery for six domains, with a total score of 53.1 points (non-significant), and positive absolute differences for seven domains. Traditional implants had a significantly greater absolute difference for emotion than MCGRs (<i>p</i> = 0.030). <b>Conclusions</b>: At the minimum two-year follow-up, CP patients had small, but statistically non-significant, improvements in HRQoL following growth-friendly surgery. Compared to MCGRs, traditional implants provided a modest additional benefit in HRQoL.