Minimum 20-Year Health-Related Quality of Life and Surgical Rates After the Treatment of Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis

Study Design: Longitudinal cohort. Objectives: To determine the patient-reported functional outcomes and need for related surgical procedures in a US cohort of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients with minimum 20-year follow-up. Summary of Background Data: There is limited information regarding the long-term outcomes of scoliosis treatment in the US population. Methods: A novel population of patients who underwent pediatric treatment for AIS with minimum 20-year follow-up was identified. Search of a single-center diagnostic registry generated 337 patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria (AIS, curve magnitude >35°, and childhood treatment with bracing, surgery, or observation from 1975 to 1992). Any additional spine surgery as well as EQ5D, ODI, SRS 22, SAQ were determined. A total of 180 patients were included (mean of 30-year follow-up, range 20–37). Childhood treatment entailed bracing (41 patients), surgery (103 patients), and observation (36 patients). Results: During the study period, only 1 of the 41 bracing patients underwent additional scoliosis-related spine surgery, whereas 5 of the 36 patients in the observation cohort underwent scoliosis surgery as adults. Seven of 103 childhood surgical patients required additional revision surgery as adults. Fifteen patients (4 braced, 7 fusion, and 4 observed) underwent chest wall surgery as adults. SRS scores were around 10% worse compared to population-based controls, with the exception of SRS mental health scores, which were similar to controls. Overall, 5.6% of patients were on disability, with no difference between operative and nonoperative groups. Conclusion: We found a low rate of adult scoliosis surgery in the braced population, and a low rate of revision surgery at the 30-year follow-up in patients undergoing spine fusion for AIS between 1975 and 1992. No detected differences in patient-reported outcomes were found between the braced, surgical, and observed populations at a mean of 30 years’ follow-up. Level of Evidence: Level III, therapeutic.