Surgical Treatment of Scoliosis-Associated with Syringomyelia: The Role of Syrinx Size.

BACKGROUND

The treatment of the syrinx prior to correction of the scoliosis in syringomyelia-associated scoliosis (SMS) patients remains controversial. The aim of this study is to evaluate the role of the syrinx size in the management of SMS patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This was a retrospective study of 36 SMS patients. They were divided into 2 groups: Group A (26 with a small syrinx, syrinx(S)/spinal cord(C) ratio ≤0.7) and Group B (10 with a large syrinx, S/C ratio >0.7). Patients with a large syrinx accepted prophylactic neurosurgery prior to scoliosis surgery. They were evaluated at baseline, 1-week and last follow-up after correction surgery for changes in curve correction, global coronal balance, thoracic kyphosis (TK), sagittal vertical axis (SVA), and Scoliosis Research Society (SRS)-22 scores.

RESULTS

The syrinx size of patients in Group A was significantly smaller than that of in Group B. The syrinx size was significantly decreased after prophylactic neurosurgery in Group B. The radiographic parameters of scoliosis at baseline, 1-week and last follow-up after scoliosis surgery were comparable between two groups. No abnormal signal was detected during the process of neuromonitoring in both groups. Pre- and postoperative SRS-22 scores were similar between two groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Prophylactic neurosurgery may be beneficial for decreasing the risk of correction surgery in SMS patients with large syrinx (S/C ratio >0.7). After the intervention of syrinx prior to scoliosis correction, SMS patients with large syrinx could obtain similar clinical and radiographic outcomes of treatment with pedicle-screw-based spinal instrumentation and fusion compared to the patients with small syrinx.