The Harrington rod, introduced in 1949 by Paul Harrington, is a steel surgical device that was implanted in the spine to treat scoliosis and, less frequently, destabilizing trauma ¹. The device has hooks that are secured onto the laminae, facilitating spinal straightening. Long-term follow-up studies of adolescent scoliosis patients found significant improvement in spine curvature ³. However, due to the costs and complications of these instruments, Harrington rods have been mostly supplanted by alternative systems. The major complication of these devices is lumbar lordosis, termed Flatback syndrome ², which caused difficulty standing upright and chronic pain. In the present case, both pedicle screws and a Harrington rod were used for realignment after trauma to the thoracic spine. 

This case was submitted with supervision and input from:
Soni C. Chawla, M.D.
Health Sciences Clinical Professor,
Department of Radiological Sciences,
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
Attending Radiologist,
Olive View - UCLA Medical Centre.