de Reuver S, Brink RC, Homans JF, et al. - A cross-sectional study was designed to ascertain whether compensatory curves in congenital scoliosis exhibit a mechanism of anterior lengthening without changes in the vertebral body, similar to curves in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) and neuromuscular (NM) scoliosis. Researchers enrolled CT-scans of individuals in whom a short segment congenital malformation had led to a long thoracic compensatory curve without bony abnormality. The total number of congenital scoliosis patients included in the study were 143. The present research on compensatory curves in congenital scoliosis verifies that anterior lengthening is part of the three-dimensional deformity in different types of scoliosis and is exclusively located in the intervertebral discs. The data showed that bony vertebral bodies maintain their kyphotic shape, which demonstrates that there is no active anterior bony overgrowth. It was noted that anterior lengthening seems to be a passive outcome of any scoliotic deformity, rather than being associated to the specific cause of AIS.