Chêneau brace
The three-dimensional nature of scoliosis has been known since the 19th century. John Shaw recognised it in 1824 and clearly demonstrated that the apex of the deformity is lordotic. Adams (1849), also described the presence of lordosis in the thoracic apical region. Jean Dubousset, a prestigious French surgeon recently wrote, "with the arrival of radiology in 1895, the anatomical observations made by Shaw and Adams were quickly forgotten. The projections of the skeleton produced by X-rays were so attractive for doctors, surgeons, etc…that their thoughts were concentrated only on what was projected, the anteroposterior view and rarely the sagittal view. As a result of this unidimensional approach, errors occurred in the use of instrumentation systems of the spine, creating the lumbar flat back syndrome, for example..."
Dr Chêneau, inspired by Abbot, fabricated the original Chêneau Brace in 1979. The Chêneau brace is commonly used for the treatment of scoliosis and thoracic hypokyphosis.
The Chêneau brace is defined as a thermoplastic brace modelled on a hyper-corrected positive plaster mould of the patient. The general correction principle is that of detorsion and sagittal plane normalisation, which would correct the coronal and transversal planes, resulting in some elongation of the spine, without any significant distraction force. During the past few years, Dr Rigo of Barcelona has furthered the development of the original Chêneau brace by combining his new classification of scoliosis, to its design.