Predicting the Natural Course of Hemivertebra in Early Childhood: Clinical Significance of Anteroposterior Discordance Based on Three-dimensional Analysis

Study Design. A retrospective cohort, radiographic study. Objective. The aim of this study was to compare the progression of scoliosis owing to single hemivertebra (HV) during early childhood, according to the anteroposterior discordance obtained from the three-dimensional computed tomography (3D-CT) studies. Summary of Background Data. Previous studies have utilized 3D-CT for the classification of congenital spinal deformities and have introduced the concept of two types of deformity: unison and discordant anomalies. However, there have been no further studies on the clinical significance of these discordant deformities, especially in the identification of deformities that will progress and require an operation. Methods. We retrospectively analyzed 97 cases of single HV with thoracolumbar scoliosis, diagnosed in children before the age of 3 years and followed up past the age of 6 years. The segmentation of the anterior and posterior components, and anteroposterior discordance of the HV were evaluated using 3D-CT images. Coronal segmental curve angle (SCA) and balance were measured using whole spine plain radiographs. Results. Using 3D-CT, 41 (42.3%) cases of unison HV and 56 (57.7%) discordant HV were identified. Unison HV comprised 21 (21.6%) cases of fully segmented (FS) unison HV and 20 (20.6%) cases of semi-segmented unison HV with corresponding anterior and posterior segmentation. Fifty-six cases of discordant HV were further classified into 4 different ty...
Source: Spine - Category: Orthopaedics Tags: DEFORMITY Source Type: research