Anterior vertebral body tethering as a treatment for scoliosis in skeletally immature patients

• Published in: La Pediatria medica e chirurgica Vol. 44; no. s1
• Main Authors: Caretti, Valentina, Andreacchio, Antonio, Colombo, Luca
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Italy PAGEPress Publications 28-10-2022
• Subjects: anterior vertebral body tethering; Humans; Retrospective Studies; scoliosis; Scoliosis - surgery; Spinal Fusion - methods; Thoracic Vertebrae - surgery; Treatment Outcome; Vertebral Body
• ISSN: 0391-5387; 2420-7748
• DOI: 10.4081/pmc.2022.291

A relatively new surgical procedure called Anterior Vertebral Body Tethering (AVBT) is used to treat scoliosis in patients with immature skeletons. It is a growth modulation fusionless system that Crowford and Lenke first described in 2010. We present our observations from 25 patients. Improvement in the mean coronal Cobb angle, from mean 57° preoperative to mean 34° postoperative, was 40%. Additionally, we noted that the mean thoracic hypokyphosis improved from 16° to 24° on average after surgery. Complication rates were 16% and surgical revision rates were 12%. All patients who demonstrated improvement in pain, function, and self-image underwent administration of the SRS-24 questionnaire. These data, according to the literature, show that AVBT is a reliable technique that enables scoliosis correction in skeletally immature patients and maintains that correction while utilizing remaining growth potential to achieve further correction, avoiding spinal fusion, and maintaining spine mobility.