OBJECTIVE: to evaluate the satisfaction of the caregivers of Rett Syndrome (RS) patients. METHODS: For this retrospective study, statistical data were presented by the medical records of 10 patients with RS, nine females and only one male. With the radiological data presented in the medical records, a questionnaire was prepared with 31 questions to be answered by family. RESULTS: the average reduction of the angle that occurred between the preoperative evaluation and the postoperative evaluation was of 72.4%. Postoperative complications occurred in only one case, and 87.5% of the caregivers said that there was significant improvement with respect to the effect of surgery on personal care, function, locomotion; the time in the wheelchair increased. To 66.7% of the caregivers, with the surgery, the frequency of medical admissions and the frequency of pneumonia decreased. They also made a positive evaluation about the aesthetic deformity of the spine. The vast majority of the caregivers (87.5%) said that their children could undergo surgery again and they would recommend it to another child with the same problem. CONCLUSION: there was a significant reduction in the mean Cobb angle between the preoperative and postoperative period, an improvement in all aspects of the patient, and caregivers also expressed that their children could undergo to surgery again.
Rett syndrome; Scoliosis; Spinal fusion; Caregivers
