Surface topography assessment of body shape after surgical correction in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis

HYPOTHESIS: Body surface topography (ST) improvements are associated with surgical correction in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) and correlate with radiographic imaging. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. INTRODUCTION: Patients undergoing correction of AIS are most affected by body image. Radiographs have been the standard assessment tool but do not assess body shape features. ST, a validated, radiation-free assessment tool, directly represents the patient's deformity. We set out to assess ST improvements associated with surgical correction in AIS. METHODS: Twenty-three consecutive operative AIS patients were enrolled and had radiographs and posterior ST obtained pre- and postoperatively (PO). ST changes were compared using paired t test, and correlations of ST with radiograph measurements were evaluated by linear regression. RESULTS: Mean age at surgery was 15.0 +/- 2 years, 82.6% female with mean follow-up of 1.0 year. Major Cobb angle improved from 56.91 degrees +/- 15.57 degrees to 13.70 degrees +/- 4.89 degrees . ST scoliosis angle corrected from 41.43 degrees +/- 11.52 degrees to 11.78 degrees +/- 7.84 degrees (p < .0001). Trunk length increased from 401.22 +/- 32.43 to 422.30 +/- 25.77 mm (Delta21.08 mm; p = .0004). Pelvic obliquity (waist asymmetry) trended toward improvement (6.0 +/- 4.3 vs. 5.3 +/- 7.1 mm; p = .06). Surface rotation was corrected from 17.35 +/- 6.73 to 11.8 +/- 4.12 mm (p < .0001), highly correlated with clinical trunk rotation (T p = .002 and TL p = .02). ST highly correlated with radiographic parameters. Sagittal balance correlated with improved function (p = .02). CONCLUSION: ST, a radiation-free body shape assessment tool, improved with surgical correction of AIS and was highly correlated with radiographic outcomes.