A new study published in Spine reviews minimally invasive treatment for adult spinal deformity.
The authors examined 39 articles in the review with all studies designed to demonstrate radiographic and clinical outcomes for minimally invasive surgery; 30 articles focused on MIS for adult spinal deformity surgery. The researchers found:
1. Minimally invasive techniques are effective to achieve radiographic correction after adult spinal deformity surgery. Open surgery for adult spinal deformity can achieve greater absolute correction of sagittal and coronal plane deformity, according to the report.
2. The minimally invasive techniques can reduce complications when compared with traditional open surgeries.
3. There are limitations to the minimally invasive techniques. The techniques might not be as effective as open surgery for severe and/or fixed sagittal and coronal plane deformity. As a result, the study authors advise appropriate patient selection for standalone, circumferential and hybrid minimally invasive procedures.
4. There is an algorithm designed to differentiate between spinal deformity surgery techniques based on the patient.
5. The study authors called for additional articles to examine the role and limitations for minimally invasive techniques for spinal deformity.