Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine
Volume 2012 (2012), Article ID 167021, 7 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/167021
Research Article

The Height Gain in Scoliotic Deformity Correction: Assessed by New Predictive Formula

Ahmet Yilmaz Sarlak,1 Halil Atmaca,2 Resul Musaoglu,1 and Elsen Veli Veliev3

1Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, School of Medicine, Kocaeli University, Umuttepe Central Campus, 41380 Umuttepe, Kocaeli, Turkey
2Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Midyat State Hospital, Mardin, Turkey
3Physics Department, Art and Science Faculty, Kocaeli University, Kocaeli, Turkey

Received 19 January 2012; Revised 25 February 2012; Accepted 14 March 2012

Academic Editor: Hugo Palmans

Copyright © 2012 Ahmet Yılmaz Şarlak et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Height gain after scoliosis correction is of a special interest for the patient and family. Ylikoski was the first to suggest a formula predicting height loss in untreated scoliotic patients. Stokes has recently suggested a new formula by using Cobb angle to determine height loss in idiopathic curves. We hypothesized that new additional variables to Cobb angle such as apical vertebral translation (AVT), number of instrumented segments ( 𝑁 ), and disc heights may increase the accuracy of predicted height gain. According to our findings simple expression for height gain by simplified version of the formula is: 𝑆 𝑃 Δ 𝐻 = 0 . 0 0 5 9 𝑋 1 𝜃 1  +  2 . 3 ( 1 − ( 𝜃 2 / 𝜃 1 ) ) 𝑁 , where 𝜃 1 is preoperative Cobb angle, 𝑋 1 is preoperative AVT, 𝜃 2 is postoperative Cobb angle, and 𝑁 is the number of instrumented vertebra. The purpose of this study is to analyze a new mathematical formula to predict height gain after scoliotic deformity correction.