ArticleBone & joint open2022
Dual modality of vertebral body tethering : anterior scoliosis correction versus growth modulation with mean follow-up of five years.
Article in Bone & joint open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Vertebral body tethering for idiopathic scoliosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Spine deformity · 2023Pooled it
- Reoperation and fusion after documented tether breakage following vertebral body tethering: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Spine deformity · 2026Article
- Preoperative Fulcrum Flexibility >80% Is Associated With Clinical Success in Vertebral Body Tethering.Global spine journal · 2026Article
- Vertebral Body Tethering for Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: Quality of Evidence and Recommendations From a Systematic Overview of Systematic Reviews in Literature.International journal of spine surgery · 2025Article
- Anterior scoliosis correction in patients over forty years: results, complications, prognosis.International orthopaedics · 2025Article
- Anterior Vertebral Body Tethering Versus Posterior Spinal Fusion in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Comparative Outcomes.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Growth modulation increases clinical success in vertebral body tethering.Spine deformity · 2025Article
- The Effects of Vertebral Body Tethering on the Intervertebral Discs and Facet Joints: A Numerical Analysis.International journal for numerical methods in biomedical engineering · 2025Article
- Minimally Invasive Surgery for Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: A Systematic Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Thoracoscopic Surgery in the Management of Idiopathic Scoliosis: Systematic Literature Review according to the Prisma Protocol.Revista brasileira de ortopedia · 2023Article
- An investigation of range of motion preservation in fusionless anterior double screw and cord constructs for scoliosis correction.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2023Article
- The different applications of Vertebral Body Tethering - Narrative review and clinical experience.Journal of orthopaedics · 2023Article
- Vertebral Body Tethering in AIS Management-A Preliminary Report.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- The timing of tether breakage influences clinical results after VBT.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2022Article
- Pulmonary Complications after Vertebral Body Tethering: Incidence, Treatment, Outcomes and Risk Factor Analysis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Article
- Vertebral Body Tethering: Indications, Surgical Technique, and a Systematic Review of Published Results.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimsVertebral body tethering (VBT) is a non-fusion technique to correct scoliosis. It allows correction of scoliosis through growth modulation (GM) by tethering the convex side to allow concave unrestricted growth similar to the hemiepiphysiodesis concept. The other modality is anterior scoliosis correction (ASC) where the tether is able to perform most of the correction immediately where limited growth is expected.
methodsWe conducted a retrospective analysis of clinical and radiological data of 20 patients aged between 9 and 17 years old, (with a 19 female: 1 male ratio) between January 2014 to December 2016 with a mean five-year follow-up (4 to 7).
resultsThere were ten patients in each group with a total of 23 curves operated on. VBT-GM mean age was 12.5 years (9 to 14) with a mean Risser classification of 0.63 (0 to 2) and VBT-ASC was 14.9 years (13 to 17) with a mean Risser classification of 3.66 (3 to 5). Mean preoperative VBT-GM Cobb was 47.4° (40° to 58°) with a Fulcrum unbend of 17.4 (1° to 41°), compared to VBT-ASC 56.5° (40° to 79°) with 30.6 (2° to 69°)unbend. Postoperative VBT-GM was 20.3° and VBT-ASC Cobb angle was 11.2°. The early postoperative correction rate was 54.3% versus 81% whereas Fulcrum Bending Correction Index (FBCI) was 93.1% vs 146.6%. The last Cobb angle on radiograph at mean five years' follow-up was 19.4° (VBT-GM) and 16.5° (VBT-ASC). Patients with open triradiate cartilage (TRC) had three over-corrections. Overall, 5% of patients required fusion. This one patient alone had a over-correction, a second-stage tether release, and final conversion to fusion.
conclusionWe show a high success rate (95%) in helping children avoid fusion at five years post-surgery. VBT is a safe technique for correction of scoliosis in the skeletally immature patient. This is the first report at five years that shows two methods of VBT can be employed depending on the skeletal maturity of the patient: GM and ASC. Cite this article:
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