Assessing clinical trunk change with surface topography: anterior scoliosis correction as a model to evaluate curve progression.

PURPOSE

Previous work has suggested that surface topography can be used for repeated measurements of deformity during curve monitoring following an initial radiograph. Changes in deformity during natural curve progression may be subtle. An important preemptive question to answer is whether topography can follow a large change in spine deformity, as in scoliosis correction. We assess the ability of surface topography to track the evolution of spine deformity during anterior scoliosis correction relative to traditional radiographs. Anterior scoliosis correction was chosen for this analysis because it changes the shape of the trunk without leaving a surgical scar and muscle atrophy along the posterior spine.

METHODS

Following IRB approval, 18 patients aged 14.6 ± 2.0 years at surgery were enrolled in a retrospective review of coronal radiographs and topographic scans acquired before and after scoliosis correction. Radiographic and topographic measures for the coronal curve angle before and after surgery were compared.

RESULTS

Surface topography estimates correlate with radiographic measures of the pre- (r = 0.7890, CI = [0.4989 0.9201], p < 0.00001), postsurgical (r = 0.7485, CI = [0.4329 0.9006], p = 0.0004), and the change in the coronal curve angle (r = 0.6744, CI = [0.3028 0.8680], p = 0.0021) due to surgery.

CONCLUSIONS

We provide evidence open for further extension that topography can follow changes in the coronal curve angle comparably to radiographs.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level IV.