AIS: Anterior Approach with a Short Fusion to Correct a Thoracolumbar Curve

Description

This 16-year-old patient had adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). She has a sharp, angular right thoracolumbar curve of 49º.

Treatment

Dr. Bridwell treated this patient with an anterior approach—he approached the spine from the front of the body. He used a 2-screw/2-rod construct, which provides superior correction to what can be achieved posteriorly, even with pedicle screw implants.
Click on thumbnails to see larger images. Click on the arrows at the bottom of the image to scroll through patient case images, or click the X to close the slideshow.



The patient needed just a short fusion, and Dr. Bridwell always strives to fuse the fewest number of vertebrae necessary.

See the very nice clinical and radiographic result.

Click on thumbnails to see larger images. Click on the arrows at the bottom of the image to scroll through patient case images, or click the X to close the slideshow.



Result

Two years after surgery, the patient’s curve was reduced to 13º. You can see in her post-op pictures that her spinal alignment, spinal symmetry and appearance have improved.

Note on the Post-op Comparison questionnaire scores that for the pain, function, and mental health questions, the maximum score is 25; for the self-image question, the maximum score is 30; and for the satisfaction question, the maximum score is 10. For the SRS Scores Converted to 100-point Scale, 100 means no pathology.

If you have any questions or would like someone to walk you through this case, please call Dr. Bridwell's office at (314) 747-2526 or (314) 747-2560 and ask to speak to either Bernie or Jackie and they or one of his staff will be happy to explain the case in greater detail to you. To learn more about how to understand SRS and Oswestry Scores, please click here.