OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy of posterior-only surgical correction of dystrophic scoliosis in patients with neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1) using a multiple anchor point method (MAPM).
METHODS
From 2005 to 2014, 31 patients (mean age 13.5 years old, range 10–22 years old) suffering from dystrophic scoliosis associated with NF1 underwent posterior-only surgical correction using a MAPM. The apex of the deformity was thoracic (n = 25), thoracolumbar (n = 4), and lumbar (n = 2). The mean preoperative coronal Cobb angle was 69.1° (range 48.9°–91.4°). The mean Cobb angle on the side-bending radiograph of the convex side was 58.2° (range 40°–79.8°). The mean flexibility and apical vertebral rotation (AVR) were 15.6% (range 8.3%–28.2%) and 2.5° (range 2°–3°), respectively. The mean angle of sagittal kyphosis was 58.3° (range 34.1°–79.6°).
RESULTS
The mean follow-up period was 53 months (range 12–96 months). The mean postoperative coronal Cobb angle was 27.4° (range 16.3°–46.7°). Postoperatively, the mean AVR and angle of sagittal kyphosis were 1.2° (range 1°–2°) and 22.4° (range 4.2°–36.3°), respectively. All patients showed good correction of all indices postoperatively. The mean postoperative correction rate was 58.7% (range 46.3%–74.1%). At the final follow-up evaluation, the corrective loss rate of the Cobb angle was only 2.3%. Only 1 patient required revision surgery. No severe complications such as spinal cord, neural, or large vascular injury occurred during the operation.
CONCLUSIONS
Posterior-only surgical correction of dystrophic scoliosis in patients with NF1 using a MAPM could yield satisfactory clinical efficacy of correction and fusion.