Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39289292›Full record

ArticleSpine deformity2025

Accuracy of screw placement during vertebral body tethering using fluoroscopic guidance and anatomic landmarks.

Kevin M Neal, Kylie Krombholz, Mona Doshi

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Spine deformity, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Does screw alignment affect tether breakage in vertebral body tethering?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 · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Kevin M NealOrthopaedics Department, Nemours Children's Health, Jacksonville, FL, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-8870-8286
Kylie KrombholzFlorida State University College of Medicine, Tallahassee, FL, USA.ORCID 0009-0002-0304-1791
Mona DoshiOrthopaedics Department, Nemours Children's Health, Orlando, FL, USA. Mona.mathew@nemours.org.ORCID 0000-0003-4553-2054

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo determine the accuracy of screw placement using fluoroscopy and anatomic landmarks during vertebral body tethering (VBT) surgery.

methodsTen patients with 73 VBT screws were converted to posterior spinal fusion (PSF) after continued curve progression. The positions of each VBT screw were analyzed using intraoperative computed tomography (CT) scans performed for image guidance during VBT. Differences for screws placed using an open versus thoracoscopic approach were noted for the screw position in each vertebra, distance from the spinal canal, unicortical versus bicortical placement, the distance of screw tips from the thoracic aorta, and impingement of screws on adjacent rib heads.

resultsSeventy three (73) screws in ten (10) patients were available for analysis. Only 21% of screws were placed traversing the middle one-third of the vertebral body, without spinal canal penetration, with the distal tip placed unicortically or bicortically as planned, and without touching the thoracic aorta. The rates of non-ideal screw placement were not significantly different for screws placed via thoracoscopic versus open approaches. Five (5) screws (6.8%) penetrated the spinal canal 1-2 mm, but without known clinical sequelae.

conclusionThe majority of VBT screws available for analysis were placed in non-ideal positions, suggesting that accurate screw placement using intraoperative fluoroscopy and anatomic landmarks can be challenging, but without adverse clinical consequences.

Indexed as

Anatomic LandmarksBone ScrewsScoliosisSpinal FusionThoracic VertebraeVertebral BodyAdultAgedFemaleFluoroscopyHumansMaleMiddle AgedTomography, X-Ray ComputedImage navigationScrew accuracySpinal canal penetrationVertebral body tethering

Identifiers

PMID39289292
PMCPMC11729129

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.