# Sagittal Alignment Reciprocal Changes After Thoracolumbar/Lumbar Anterior Vertebral Body Tethering

## TL;DR

This study compares the effects of anterior vertebral body tethering with spinal fusion techniques in treating adolescent scoliosis, finding early improvements in posture but no clear long-term benefits.

## Contribution

The study provides early-to-early-mid postoperative radiological results of thoracolumbar/lumbar AVBT in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

## Key findings

- AVBT significantly improved cervical lordosis and shoulder asymmetry in early postoperative periods.
- No significant differences in functional scores or sagittal parameters were found between AVBT and fusion techniques.
- Mid- to long-term benefits of AVBT remain uncertain and require further research.

## Abstract

Background/Objective: The anterior vertebral body tethering (AVBT) technique, which preserves spinal mobility and avoids possible fusion problems in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients, continues to be increasingly used in spine surgery. The study aims to report the early-to-early-mid postoperative radiological results of thoracolumbar/lumbar AVBT on sagittal alignment, and the second aim is to compare AVBT with selective thoracic fusion (STF) and non-selective fusion (NSF) groups in AIS patients. Methods: Patients with a diagnosis of AIS were retrospectively evaluated in the study. All patients were categorized into three groups based on the surgical technique performed: AVBT (n = 17), NSF (n = 19), and STF (n = 15). The major curvature degree, coracoid height difference (CHD), sacral slope (SS), pelvic tilt (PT), pelvic incidence (PI), lumbar lordosis (LL), thoracic kyphosis (TK), cervical lordosis (CL), C7 tilt, sagittal vertical axis (SVA), T1 pelvic angle (TPA), and T1 spinopelvic inclination (T1SPI) were measured for radiological comparison. Scoliosis Research Society-22 (SRS-22) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores were used at the final follow-up for functional evaluation. Results: The T1SPI value of the NSF group was significantly higher than the STF group in the final follow-up (p = 0.033). The mean decrease of 8.85 ± 7.85 units in the final follow-up value compared to the postoperative CHD value of the patients in the AVBT group was found to be significant (p = 0.028). Statistically significant differences were found between preoperative and the first postoperative CL and TPA measurements (p = 0.001 and p = 0.042, respectively), as well as between preoperative and final follow-up CL measurements in the AVBT group (p = 0.001). No statistically significant differences were observed between the groups in CHD, SS, PT, PI, LL, TK, CL, C7 tilt, SVA, and TPA values (p > 0.05); similarly, the SRS-22 and ODI scores did not differ significantly among the groups (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Thoracolumbar/lumbar AVBT surgery led to significant improvements in shoulder asymmetry and cervical lordosis of AIS patients in the early to early-mid postoperative period. However, compared with spinal fusion techniques, thoracolumbar/lumbar AVBT did not demonstrate superiority in functional scores or sagittal parameters. The mid- to long-term benefits of thoracolumbar/lumbar AVBT remain uncertain and require further investigation.