An article recently published in The Spine Journal found that survival rate for primary spinal fusion in adult scoliosis patients was 89.8 percent at one year postoperatively.
The study examined 59 patients 21 years or older that underwent primary surgery for idiopathic or degenerative curves and were followed for minimum of two years postoperatively. Survival rate at three years was 73.4 percent and 64 percent at five years. At 10 years postoperatively, the survival rate was 60.9 percent.
Over the entire follow-up period, 35.6 percent of patients underwent revision surgery, with the most common reasons for the revision being:
• Painful/prominent implants
• Adjacent segment disease
• Infection
A higher revision rate was found among American Society of Anesthesiologists Type II patients and double surgical approach patients.
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