Purpose: To assess the change in disease-specific quality of life associated with operating on patients with AIS, compared to non operative patients.

Methods: The Climent Quality of Life for Spinal Deformities Scale (QLPSD)was administered prospectively to 119 patients undergoing scoliosis surgery and 42 patients followed for bracing or observation. Change in quality of life after two years (adjusted for baseline quality of life) was used to estimate the short term benefit of scoliosis surgery. Bracing status was also analyzed at baseline as a covariate to determine its effect on improvement in quality of life.

Results: The operated group experienced an increase in quality of life of 4.3 points (95% C.I. 0.69, 7.88) on the 105 point Climent scale. Although statistically significant, this increase was lower than the 5.5 point cutoff we had defined a priori as clinically significant. Among the operative patients, there was no difference in the quality of life score between those braced at baseline (91.2) and those not (90.5) (p=0.73). In non operative patients, those braced had a baseline quality of life score of 88.2, and those not braced 83.3, this difference was also not significant (p=0.13).

Conclusions: Scoliosis surgery results in a small increase, of questionable clinical significance, in spine-related quality of life at two years.

Funding : Commerical funding

Funding Parties : This trial was funded by (in alphabetical order) Canadian Institutes of Health Research, DePuyAcroMed-Johnson & Johnson Medical Products, and Synthes, Canada.

Five surgeons independently rated clinical photographs of forty patients with AIS. Ratings of shoulder blades, shoulder symmetry, and waist symmetry were related to “overall appearance”, and were also correlated with rib prominence and Cobb angle. Because the components of surgeons’ ratings of appearance differed, this may lead to inconsistent recommendations regarding surgery.

To identify patient characteristics associated with surgeons’ ratings of patient physical deformity in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS).

Five surgeons independently rated clinical photographs of forty patients with AIS. Surgeons separately rated the appearance of patients’ shoulder blades, shoulder symmetry, waist symmetry and also rated their “overall appearance” [in five categories from zero (best) to five (worst)]. The following clinical and radiographic data was also collected: rib prominence, vertebral rotation, shoulder height, spinal imbalance, Cobb angle, age, sex, and body mass index.

Surgeons’ mean rating for “overall appearance” was moderately correlated with rib prominence (r = 0.48), vertebral rotation (r = 0.44) and Cobb angle (r = 0.53). Surgeons’ rating of patients’ “overall appearance” was affected by each of: shoulder blades (p = 0.001), shoulder symmetry (p = 0.01) and waist symmetry (p = 0.001). However, each surgeon weighted components of patients’ appearance differently to arrive at their overall rating of appearance (p< 0.006).

Because patients’ physical appearance is an important element of surgical decision making, differences among surgeons could be contributing to inconsistent recommendations.

Surgeons’ ratings of physical appearance are based on surgeons’ ratings of patients’ shoulder blades, waist symmetry and shoulder symmetry but surgeons weight those elements differently.

Surgeon decision making is complicated. It is based on radiographs and subjective assessment. Patients’ appearance undoubtedly influences surgeon recommendation for surgery. We need to clarify surgeons’ ratings and improve the criteria for surgeon decision making.

Funding: This trial was funded by (in alphabetical order) The Canadian Institutes of Health Research, DePuyAcroMed-Johnson & Johnson Medical Products, and Synthes, Canada.