Surface Topography Helps With Body Image in AIS
To help alleviate the concerns of patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York set out to see if body surface topography (ST) improvements are associated with surgical correction in AIS and correlate with health-related quality of life.
Baron Lonner, M.D. is professor of orthopaedics at Icahn, and was a co-author on the study. Asked if surface topography is widely used, Dr. Lonner told OTW, “It is not as the technology is not readily available and is expensive. Only a few centers in the country have access to the tool.
“We set out to investigate changes in boys’ shape after corrective surgery for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Self-image is the most impacted of all quality of life indicators in this patient population. X-rays fail to really show directly, what the patient sees in the mirror and what others see, namely body shape which is affected by the scoliosis. Surface topography does a good job of showing the body shape changes associated with scoliosis. We investigated those changes and their improvement following surgery.”
The authors wrote, “Twenty-three consecutive operative AIS patients were enrolled and had radiographs and posterior ST obtained pre- and post-operatively (PO). ST changes were compared using paired t-test and correlations of ST with x-ray measurements and SRS-22 scores were evaluated by linear regression and Pearson correlation.”
“…ST highly correlated with radiographic parameters. ST waist asymmetry correlated with satisfaction, self-image and PO total domains and improvement in pain scores. Sagittal balance correlated with improved function.”
Dr. Lonner commented to OTW, “The results were not surprising, but for the first time, we have shown in an objective way, the improvements in body shape after scoliosis surgery. This approach, the use of this technology, will provide us who treat scoliosis patients with information that can be used to council patients and their families about the improvements in their body shape that can be expected with surgery and use this to modify corrective strategies as needed to improve body shape and by extension, self-image of the patient. Over longer-term follow-up, we will show how these improvements correlate with quality of life indicators for the individual.”
