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Fusion maturation over time in operated on adolescent idipathic scoliosis – a low dose CT study up to 5 years

Strömqvist, Fredrik LU ; Vasilescu, Irina ; Ohlin, Acke LU ; Möller, Anders LU and Abul-Kasim, Kasim LU (2025) In European Spine Journal 34(5). p.1810-1816
Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate bony fusion with Low Dose CT (LDCT) over time following posterior scoliosis surgery in an all screw construct in patients with AIS with special focus on whether the spinal fusion process continue to develop beyond 2 years after scoliosis surgery and to evaluate if LDCT is an adequate radiological method to assess fusion maturation. Methods: Twenty five consecutive patients with mean age 17 (range 13–24) were operated on during 2009–2010 with index diagnosis AIS. Two neuroradiologists used a LDCT protocol to independently evaluate the occurrence and degree of bony fusion at 2 years and 5 years after surgery (ankylosed facet joints). The instrumented spine was divided in an upper, a middle... (More)

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate bony fusion with Low Dose CT (LDCT) over time following posterior scoliosis surgery in an all screw construct in patients with AIS with special focus on whether the spinal fusion process continue to develop beyond 2 years after scoliosis surgery and to evaluate if LDCT is an adequate radiological method to assess fusion maturation. Methods: Twenty five consecutive patients with mean age 17 (range 13–24) were operated on during 2009–2010 with index diagnosis AIS. Two neuroradiologists used a LDCT protocol to independently evaluate the occurrence and degree of bony fusion at 2 years and 5 years after surgery (ankylosed facet joints). The instrumented spine was divided in an upper, a middle and a lower third on each side in the 25 patients, leaving 150 regions to be assessed. Fusion in each region was classified based on the status of the facet joints as total, partial or non-fusion. Results: Progression of fusion degree between 2 years and 5 years postoperatively occurred in 18 patients (72%). At 5 years follow-up, 60% showed evidence of total fusion and none showed non-fusion. The interobserver agreement in the classification of bony fusion 2 years postoperatively was almost perfect with a Kappa coefficient of 0.94 and between 2 and 5 years postoperatively a Kappa Coefficient of 0.90. Conclusions: The fusion maturation progress continues beyond two years following posterior scoliosis surgery in AIS. LDCT is a reliable radiological method to reveal bony fusion maturation over time after posterior scoliosis surgery.

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author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
AIS – adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, Computed tomography, Fusion, Posterior instrumentation
in
European Spine Journal
volume
34
issue
5
pages
7 pages
publisher
Springer Science and Business Media B.V.
external identifiers
  • scopus:86000573114
  • pmid:40069385
ISSN
0940-6719
DOI
10.1007/s00586-025-08767-3
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
f18f85f8-84bf-4246-8e7c-a81e21daa440
date added to LUP
2025-06-26 10:52:58
date last changed
2025-07-10 11:24:47
@article{f18f85f8-84bf-4246-8e7c-a81e21daa440,
  abstract     = {{<p>Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate bony fusion with Low Dose CT (LDCT) over time following posterior scoliosis surgery in an all screw construct in patients with AIS with special focus on whether the spinal fusion process continue to develop beyond 2 years after scoliosis surgery and to evaluate if LDCT is an adequate radiological method to assess fusion maturation. Methods: Twenty five consecutive patients with mean age 17 (range 13–24) were operated on during 2009–2010 with index diagnosis AIS. Two neuroradiologists used a LDCT protocol to independently evaluate the occurrence and degree of bony fusion at 2 years and 5 years after surgery (ankylosed facet joints). The instrumented spine was divided in an upper, a middle and a lower third on each side in the 25 patients, leaving 150 regions to be assessed. Fusion in each region was classified based on the status of the facet joints as total, partial or non-fusion. Results: Progression of fusion degree between 2 years and 5 years postoperatively occurred in 18 patients (72%). At 5 years follow-up, 60% showed evidence of total fusion and none showed non-fusion. The interobserver agreement in the classification of bony fusion 2 years postoperatively was almost perfect with a Kappa coefficient of 0.94 and between 2 and 5 years postoperatively a Kappa Coefficient of 0.90. Conclusions: The fusion maturation progress continues beyond two years following posterior scoliosis surgery in AIS. LDCT is a reliable radiological method to reveal bony fusion maturation over time after posterior scoliosis surgery.</p>}},
  author       = {{Strömqvist, Fredrik and Vasilescu, Irina and Ohlin, Acke and Möller, Anders and Abul-Kasim, Kasim}},
  issn         = {{0940-6719}},
  keywords     = {{AIS – adolescent idiopathic scoliosis; Computed tomography; Fusion; Posterior instrumentation}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{5}},
  pages        = {{1810--1816}},
  publisher    = {{Springer Science and Business Media B.V.}},
  series       = {{European Spine Journal}},
  title        = {{Fusion maturation over time in operated on adolescent idipathic scoliosis – a low dose CT study up to 5 years}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00586-025-08767-3}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/s00586-025-08767-3}},
  volume       = {{34}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}