Investigation of in vivo three‐dimensional changes of the spinal canal after corrective surgeries of the idiopathic scoliosis

Objective To determine the three‐dimensional (3D) changes of the spinal canal length (SCL) after corrective surgeries and their association with the radiographic and clinical outcomes of idiopathic scoliosis patients. The length of the spinal cord has been demonstrated to be strongly correlated with the SCL. Understanding the changes in SCL could help determine the morphologic changes in the spinal cord to prevent spinal cord injury. Methods Twenty‐seven scoliotic patients' 3D spinal canal were investigated using computed tomography images. The SCL between the upper and lower end vertebrae (U/L‐EV) was measured at five locations. The radiographic parameters of each patient and the patient‐reported outcomes (PROs) scores were also collected. The correlations of the changes of the SCLs with the other factors were analyzed. Results The SCL between the U/L‐EV changed non‐uniformly at different locations. The post‐operative SCLs were significantly elongated by 7.5 ± 3.5 mm (6.0 ± 2.5%, P