Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40932668›Full record

ArticleSpine deformity2026

Bilateral anterior lumbar vertebral body tethering: a feasibility cohort study.

Alan A Stein, Amer F Samdani, Alexander J Schüpper, Sabrina Zeller, Zan A Naseer, Joshua M Pahys, Alejandro Quinonez, Emily Nice, Kaitlin Kirk, Steven W Hwang

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Article in Spine deformity, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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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

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0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Alan A SteinShriners Children's Philadelphia, 3551 N Broad St, Philadelphia, PA, 19140, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0582-5891
Amer F SamdaniShriners Children's Philadelphia, 3551 N Broad St, Philadelphia, PA, 19140, USA. amersamdani@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4206-610X
Alexander J SchüpperShriners Children's Philadelphia, 3551 N Broad St, Philadelphia, PA, 19140, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3322-8138
Sabrina ZellerShriners Children's Philadelphia, 3551 N Broad St, Philadelphia, PA, 19140, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7196-9167
Zan A NaseerShriners Children's Philadelphia, 3551 N Broad St, Philadelphia, PA, 19140, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0008-6567-6569
Joshua M PahysShriners Children's Philadelphia, 3551 N Broad St, Philadelphia, PA, 19140, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8965-354X
Alejandro QuinonezShriners Children's Philadelphia, 3551 N Broad St, Philadelphia, PA, 19140, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8640-4687
Emily NiceShriners Children's Philadelphia, 3551 N Broad St, Philadelphia, PA, 19140, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0004-2320-3182
Kaitlin KirkShriners Children's Philadelphia, 3551 N Broad St, Philadelphia, PA, 19140, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0002-9939-8559
Steven W HwangShriners Children's Philadelphia, 3551 N Broad St, Philadelphia, PA, 19140, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0832-3683

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeAnterior vertebral body tethering (VBT) is a viable option for children with idiopathic scoliosis. Treating double major curves with bilateral VBT may allow patients to avoid spinal fusion while improving the coronal Cobb angle.

methodsA single center retrospective study was conducted to identify all patients who underwent bilateral VBT (lowest instrumented vertebra L3 or 4) with minimum 2-year follow-up. Clinical and radiographic parameters were collected, including complications and reoperations. Statistical analysis was performed utilizing Students' t-test.

resultsSeventy-three patients (67 female, 91.8%) underwent bilateral VBT with mean follow-up of 4.2 ± 1.5 years. Preoperatively, all patients were skeletally immature (age 12.7 ± 1.2 years with a Sanders score of 3.3 ± 0.8 and Risser grade of 0.6 ± 0.8). The preoperative lumbar Cobb angle was 51.1° ± 7.9° which corrected to 20.7° ± 11.3° at most recent follow-up (p < 0.01) and the thoracic Cobb angle measured 52.3° ± 9.0° which corrected to 27.0° ± 11.3° (p < 0.01) at most recent follow-up. At latest follow-up, 51/73 (69.9%) had a thoracic Cobb angle <30°, 59/73 patients (80.8%) had a lumbar Cobb angle <30°, and 47/73 (64.4%) had both thoracic and lumbar Cobb angles <30°. 15 patients (20.5%) underwent 17 reoperations with overcorrection being the most common indication (8/17, 47.1%). Broken tethers led to reoperation in 3/17 instances (17.6%). Five patients (6.8%) eventually required posterior spinal fusion.

conclusionsBilateral VBT is a safe procedure and may be a viable option for patients with double curves, with the majority of curves measuring <30° at most recent follow-up. Surgeons can use these data to help patients and parents make informed decisions regarding treatment options.

Indexed as

Lumbar VertebraeScoliosisVertebral BodyAdolescentChildCohort StudiesFeasibility StudiesFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansMaleRadiographyReoperationRetrospective StudiesSpinal FusionTreatment OutcomeAdolescent idiopathic scoliosisLumbarVertebral body tether

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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.