Prof. dr. R.M. Castelein

René Castelein is internationally regarded as a highly skilled specialist in the field of scoliosis. He has over 20 years of experience in surgical and conservative treatment of all types of scoliosis, has published more than 200 peer-reviewed articles, over half of which are on scoliosis, as well as contributing to multiple textbooks on this subject.
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He is a member of the Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) and delivered the 2019 Harrington Presidential Guest Lecture in Montreal entitled: ‘Dropping the I in AIS, what will it take?’ He is also a member of Eurospine, SOSORT, the Dutch Spine Society, former president of the International Research Society of Spinal Deformities, former president of the Nordic Spinal Deformities Society, member of the Fondation Yves Cotrel pour la recherche en pathologie rachidienne, and former scientific secretary and board member of the Dutch
Orthopedic Association. He and his colleague Prof. dr. Moyo Kruyt made a patented invention in the field of surgical treatment of scoliosis in young children. He has been invited to guest lecture on scoliosis on almost every continent, last year including at the Mayo Clinics and the National Scoliosis Center in the US, and at meetings in Switzerland, Brazil and Serbia.

This fall, he will accompany the SRS International Traveling Fellows as their “Godfather” on a tour of many of the leading scoliosis centers in the United States.

His scientific research into the origin of and early changes in idiopathic scoliosis will lead to the completion of the 7th academic dissertation on the subject this year, with more to come in the coming years. This research has provided many new insights into the earliest trunk changes that occur in scoliosis, and the role of the intervertebral disc in it. These insights form the basis of his decision to pay more attention to non-operative scoliosis treatment, based on the conviction that this is very
Care must be taken, in close collaboration and consultation between the patient, orthopedic surgeon, specialized scoliosis remedial therapist and specialized orthopedic brace maker, in order to achieve the best results.

He found the Providence night brace through his colleagues abroad, and after a visit to Denmark with the Dutch Scoliosis Center team, the decision was made to mainly work with this brace. He is co-founder of the Dutch Scoliosis Center, which works in partnership with the Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital (part of the UMCU) in Utrecht.