Vertebral body tethering shows clinical success as treatment for scoliosis

Scoliosis is the most common spinal deformity affecting pediatric patients. A posterior spinal fusion (PSF) is the gold standard treatment for patients with curves exceeding 45 degrees, but the procedure’s drawbacks include the loss of spinal mobility, persistent pain and adjacent segment disc disease. However, a new retrospective study shows an alternative to PSF called vertebral body tethering (VBT) yields promising results with fewer long-term consequences for a specific group of scoliosis patients.