4. At what point should the thoracolumbar region be addressed in patients undergoing corrective cervical deformity surgery?

Abstract

BACKGROUND CONTEXT Thoracolumbar malalignment is often seen in patients presenting with cervical deformities. For operative cervical deformity (CD) patients, it is unknown whether certain thoracolumbar parameters play a large role in poor outcomes (complications, distal junctional kyphosis, reoperation) and whether addressment of such parameters is warranted. PURPOSE To investigate the impact of cervical to thoracolumbar ratios on poor outcomes in CD corrective surgery. STUDY DESIGN/SETTING Retrospective cohort study. PATIENT SAMPLE 110 CD patients. OUTCOME MEASURES Radiographic parameters: regionally and globally; complications; distal junctional kyphosis (DJK); reoperations; health-related quality-of-life (HRQLs): NDI, EQ5D, mJOA. METHODS Included: surgical CD pts (C2-C7 Cobb >10°, CL>10°, cSVA >4cm, or CBVA >25°) with full baseline and 1-year data. Patients were assessed for ratios of preop cervical and global parameters including: C2 slope/T1 slope, TS-CL/PI-LL, cSVA/SVA. Deformity classification ratios of cervical (Ames-ISSG) to spinopelvic (SRS-Schwab) were investigated: cSVA modifier/SVA modifier, TS-CL modifier/PI-LL modifier. Cervical to thoracic ratios included C2-C7 lordosis/T4-T12 kyphosis. Correlations assessed the relationship between ratios and poor outcome (major complication, reoperation, HRQL decline or failure to meet MCID). Decision tree analysis through multiple iterations of multivariate regressions assessed cut-offs for ratios for acquiring suboptimal outcomes. RESULTS A total of 110 cervical deformity patients were included in the present analysis (61.5±9.9 years, 66% female, 28.8±7.5 kg/m2). By approach, 18.2% underwent anterior-only procedures, 46.4% posterior, and 35.4% combined. Average levels fused: 7.7±3.7 levels (anterior: 3.5, posterior: 8.5). The average preoperative radiographic ratios assessed included a C2 slope/T1 slope 1.56, TS-CL/PI-LL of 11.1, cSVA/SVA of 5.4, CL/TK of 0.26. Ames-ISSG and SRS-Schwab modifier ratios of cSVA/SVA 0.1 and TS-CL/PI-LL of 0.35. Pearson correlations demonstrated a significant relationship between major complications and the baseline TS-CL/PI-LL with a cutoff of >12.72 (p=0.034), >0.482 Ames TS-CL/Schwab PI-LL modifiers (p=0.019), and the CL/TK ratios (>0.814, p=0.050). Reoperation had a significant correlation with the TS-CL/PI-LL (>5.819, p=0.009) and the cSVA/SVA (>3.79, p=0.002) ratios. Postoperative DJK had a correlation with the C2 slope/T1 slope (>1.59, p=0.017) and CL/TK (>0.692, p=0.0629) ratios. Not meeting MCID for NDI correlated with the CL/TK ratio (>1.402, p=0.016) and not meeting MCID for EQ5D correlated with the Ames TS-CL/Schwab PI-LL (>0.564, p=0.010). CONCLUSIONS Consideration of the ratio of distal regional to global alignment is a critical determinant of outcomes in cervical deformity corrective surgery. Several key ratios of cervical to global alignment were found to correlate with the occurrence of suboptimal realignment parameters, or poor clinical outcomes. A larger cervical lordosis to thoracic kyphosis was most representative of this risk, which predicted a complication, DJK, and not meeting MCID for NDI. FDA DEVICE/DRUG STATUS This abstract does not discuss or include any applicable devices or drugs.