Treatment of Adult Scoliosis Fractional Curve With Minimally Invasive Surgery: Anterior Versus Posterior Approach?

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Abstract INTRODUCTION The fractional curve in adult scoliosis often causes radiculopathy and may be managed in varied manners with minimally invasive (MIS) deformity correction. There are inherent risks and benefits to anterior and posterior interbody reconstruction techniques, and the purpose of this study was to evaluate for differences in outcomes or complication rates by fractional curve treatment via MIS anterior vs. posterior interbody fusion METHODS Inclusion criteria were age = 18 yr, and one of the following: coronal cobb > 20°, SVA > 5 cm, PT > 20°, PI-LL > 10°. Patients were treated with circumferential MIS (cMIS) surgery or hybrid MIS surgery and had 2-yr minimum follow-up. Patient were divided into two groups: anterior or posterior interbody fusion at the lumbosacral junction (L4-S1). HRQOL measures included Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), visual analog score (VAS). RESULTS A total of 112 patients who underwent MIS adult deformity surgery with minimum 2-yr follow up. A total of 74 patients underwent anterior and 38 patients underwent posterior interbody reconstruction at L4-S1 utilizing MIS technique. Preoperative spinopelvic parameters, radiographic parameters, and VAS were not different, but ODI was higher in the anterior group (53 vs 48, P = .047). Complications and reoperation rates were not different (P = .089, P = .597), but posterior had more infections (15.8% vs 2.7%, P = .01). When subdivided for cMIS only surgery, 38 had anterior and 19 underwent posterior interbody fusions in the fractional curve. Pre- and postoperative VAS leg, ODI, and fractional curve magnitude were not different. In the anterior surgery cohorts, laminectomies at L4-S1 were performed in 22% of hybrid cases and in 8% of cMIS cases. CONCLUSION Treatment of the fractional curve of adult scoliosis appears to be similarly effective in reducing VAS, ODI, and fractional curve magnitude regardless of anterior vs posterior approach. However, posterior interbody reconstruction was associated with higher infection rate than anterior, regardless of application in cMIS or hybrid technique.