HONG KONG, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Two scoliotic children in Hong Kong became the world's first to benefit from a novel treatment for the disease by receiving an implantation of a controlled expandable device, the University of Hong Kong that conducted the surgery said here Wednesday.

    The new technology was developed in the United States and the first application was carried out in Hong Kong in November and December, 2009, which involved two female patients at the age of five and 12 respectively, said Professor Kenneth Cheung Man-chee from the university's Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology at a press conference.

    Traditionally, young patients with scoliosis, an illness causing the spine to curve from side to side, would be treated by having a rod implanted to correct the deformation. The patients needed to receive an operation every half a year to lengthen the rod to keep with their growth.

    However, by using an expandable device which can be lengthened by remote control, children suffering from the disease can avoid undergoing the numerous surgical process and the chance of getting complications could be reduced as the expansion is now done in a non-invasive way.

    The new implantable device comprised of a rod with an actuator which is remotely operated and extended by the use of an external motorized magnet.

    "The whole process takes only 30 seconds with the patients totally conscious," said Cheung, adding that the novel treatment was expected to be officially put on market in three or four years.

    The mother of the 12-year-old patient who received the new treatment told reporters that the traditional method was unacceptable as too much hurt would be done to her girl.

    The woman said her daughter's spine curvature had been improved after the implantation.