A study presented at the Society of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Annual Forum 2016 compared minimally invasive spine surgery to open procedures for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis correction.
The study authors examined 15 patients who underwent minimally invasive surgery for scoliosis correction and matched them with 15 patients who underwent open surgical correction. The average patients in the MIS group were 17 years old and the average open surgery patients was 19 years old.
The average curve flexibility index for the MIS group was 56.4 percent; for the open group it was 55.2 percent. The researchers found:
1. Average surgical time in the MIS group was 377 minutes, compared with an average time of 332 minutes among the open patients.
2. The average estimated blood loss for the MIS group was 169 mL, compared with 281 mL for the open group.
3. Among the MIS group, the average length of stay was 3.2 days, compared with 5.4 days in the open group.
4. The MIS group reported 74.1 percent corrections at one year and 76.3 percent correction two years after surgery. The open group reported 73.5 percent correction at one year and 75.3 percent correction at two years after surgery. The difference between the two groups wasn't statistically significant.
5. The average VAS score in the MIS group one year after surgery was 3.4; two years after surgery the patients reported 4.1 VAS score on average. In the open group, the patients reported an average VAS score of 3.1 one year after surgery at 3.7 two years after surgery.
6. The average ODI score in the MIS group was 6 one year after surgery; two years after surgery the average score was 12. In the open group, the average score was 4 one year after surgery and 7 two years after surgery.
"In these specific curve types, our cohort data indicates that MIS techniques for scoliosis correction is a viable option and can attain corrections equivalent to open surgery with lower EBL and shorter LOS," concluded the study authors.