Harrington Rod - History

History

The Harrington implant was developed in 1953 by Paul Harrington, an orthopedic surgeon in Houston, Texas.

Harrington rods were intended to provide a means to reduce the curvature and to provide more stability to a spinal fusion. Before the Harrington rod was invented, scoliosis patients had their spines fused without any instrumentation to support it; such fusions required many months in plaster casts, and large curvatures could progress despite fusion.

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