Late implant migration with neurologic compromise as a complication of scoliosis surgery

Late neurological deficit following scoliosis surgery is a rare event and any change in the patient’s neurological status deserves immediate attention. We report on two clinical cases (at 2 and 6 years of follow-up) where two different types of proximal instrumentation resulted in lateral drift into the spinal canal causing cord compression with neurological deficit. Late neurological compromise in a posterior spinal-fusion setting deserves a prompt and complete spine investigative search for non-union, infection, or implant migration into the spinal canal.