The Center for Early Onset Scoliosis

The Center for Early Onset Scoliosis is led by Michael Vitale, MD, MPH, chief of pediatric spine and scoliosis surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital. More than 400 patients under the age of five are seen each year in the Center by Dr. Vitale, Dr. David Roye, and Dr. Benjamin Roye. The Center has contributed to national efforts to improve the care of patients with EOS through Dr. Vitale’s leadership of the Children’s Spine Study Group, a group of surgeons across the country who collaborate on multicenter research on EOS.

While more than 100,000 children in the U.S. are diagnosed with scoliosis each year, most patients are diagnosed between ages 10 and 15 with Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis. Scoliosis identified at birth or up to the age of eight is rare, and is categorized as Infantile Scoliosis, Juvenile Scoliosis or Congenital Scoliosis. At the Center, we will explore a range of treatments, including the innovative MAGEC (MAGnetic Expansion Control) device, which uses external magnets to control a rod implanted in the spine. Dr. Vitale performed New York City’s first procedure using this device in a 5 year-old with early onset scoliosis.