Turkish Neurosurgery 2022 , Vol 32 , Num 3
Complications Following Surgery for Adult Scheuermann's Kyphosis: A 2-Year Follow-Up in 22 Patients
Martin HEEGAARD1,Tanvir Johanning BARI1,Søren OHRT-NISSEN1,Martin GEHRCHEN1
1Rigshospitalet, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Spine Unit, Copenhagen, Denmark DOI : 10.5137/1019-5149.JTN.35974-21.2 AIM: To determine the rate of postoperative complications following surgery for Scheuermann?s kyphosis (SK) and ascertain whether restoration to an ideal Roussouly spine type reduced the incidence of postoperative proximal junctional kyphosis (PJK).

MATERIAL and METHODS: We retrospectively screened all patients undergoing SK surgery at our institution (2010?2017) and excluded patients with less than two years of follow-up. Postoperative complications were identified as early or late and minor or major. Successful restoration of Roussouly spine type was assessed and patients were classified as ?restored? or ?non-restored.? Associations between ideal Roussouly restoration and postoperative PJK were evaluated using logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS: The study included 22 patients with a median age of 23 (IQR, 20.0?43.8) years. Postoperative complications developed in 17 (77%) of these cases. All 17 patients developed minor complications; seven (32%) patients also exhibited major complications. PJK was diagnosed in 55% of the patients with an 18% overall two-year revision rate. Forty-four percent of the patients in the restored group developed PJK compared to 83% in the non-restored group (p=0.162). Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed a trend towards an increased incidence of PJK in the non-restored group, albeit without statistical significance (OR, 9.4; 95% CI, 0.7?122.5, p=0.087).

CONCLUSION: Our study revealed that 77% of patients undergoing surgery for SK developed at least one complication with a two-year revision rate of 18%. PJK was detected less frequently in patients who were restored to their ideal Roussouly spine type, although this finding did not achieve statistical significance. Keywords : Scheuermann kyphosis, Postoperative complications, Proximal junctional kyphosis, Adult spinal deformity

Corresponding author : Martin HEEGAARD, martinheegaard@hotmail.com