Assessment of spinal appearance in female patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis treated operatively

BACKGROUND: Body deformities in patients with scoliosis significantly affect appearance perception. The majority of studies on this topic have analyzed the relation between radiological and clinical assessment performed by doctors, and patients’ perception of deformity. The object of this study was to adapt the Spinal Appearance Questionnaire (SAQ) to Polish conditions and to explore the perception of trunk deformity by female patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. MATERIAL/METHODS: Forty female patients who underwent surgical treatment for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis using the Cotrel-Dubousset method were asked to complete a Polish version of the Spinal Appearance Questionnaire. The mean preoperative Cobb angle of the thoracic curve in the study group was 55.3 degrees (SD 9.7). In the final postoperative examination the Cobb angle was 29.1 degrees (SD 10.1). RESULTS: The general results of the SAQ demonstrated that the patients achieved a median of 34.48 points, showing a positive assessment of their appearance. Patients rated themselves most critically in the general, chest, surgical scar, symmetry of shoulders and waist domains. The logistic regression model revealed that only the size of the thoracic apical translation, with a model coefficient of −0.9138 (SE=0.350; p=0.013), has a statistically significant (p=0.002) influence on a good general result in the SAQ. CONCLUSIONS: Patients assessed their appearance positively after surgical treatment. A higher thoracic apical translation value is related to a lower probability of achieving a good general result in the Spinal Appearance Questionnaire.