Comparative analysis of the quality of life of children with congenital scoliosis after surgical treatment: Extirpation of the hemivertebra from dorsal and combined access

BACKGROUND: Congenital scoliosis with disorders of the formation of the vertebrae is the most common cause of pronounced deformities of the spine in early childhood. This pathology can be treated surgically using various techniques that differ in invasiveness, severity of the condition in the postoperative period, achieved result of deformity correction, and nature of the long-term prognosis. Numerous studies have assessed the quality of life of patients who underwent surgery for acquired deformities, trauma, and degenerative and neoplastic diseases of the spine in adults. However, features of the child’s quality of life following surgical technique for congenital scoliosis have not been sufficiently studied.

AIM: This study aimed to compare the quality of life of children with congenital scoliosis of the thoracolumbar localization after extirpation of the hemivertebra from the dorsal and combined approaches.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: An intergroup prospective analysis of the results of a survey of 60 patients with congenital deformity of the spine against the background of an isolated violation of the formation of the thoracic or lumbar vertebra was carried out. Patients underwent standard surgical treatment. Patients were divided into two groups according to the surgical approach to the abnormal vertebral body: dorsal group (n = 28) and combined group (n = 32). The average age of the patients was 75 (min–max, 26–196) months. The follow-up period was 18 months after surgery. To assess the quality of life, a specialized Russian version of the PedsQL v4.0 questionnaire and a modified visual analog scale were used.

RESULTS: After surgical treatment of congenital spinal deformity, quality of life indicators decreased more than two times than the results of a preoperative survey. At 18 months postoperatively, the physical activity and psychoemotional state were restored to the preoperative level, while patients of the combined group had a higher satisfaction score on the quality of life (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: The combined approach provides the best correction of congenital deformity of the spine and allows maintaining of the achieved result throughout the observation period. In the early postoperative period, the combined group demonstrated a significant decrease in the level of satisfaction with the quality of life, while the pain syndrome was higher than that in the dorsal group. Dynamic observation revealed the leveling of these differences and a subsequent increase in the level of satisfaction with the quality of life of these patients.