Anterior vertebral body tethering shows clinically comparable shoulder balance outcomes to posterior spinal fusion

Purpose Posterior spinal fusion (PSF) is the current gold standard in surgical treatment for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Vertebral body tethering (VBT) is a fusionless alternative. Shoulder balance is an important metric for outcomes and patient satisfaction. Here we compare shoulder balance outcomes between PSF and VBT. Methods In this retrospective review, the pre-operative and post-operative absolute radiographic shoulder height (|RSH|) of 45 PSF patients were compared to 46 VBT patients. Mean values were compared and then collapsed into discrete groups (|RSH| GROUP) and compared. Patients were propensity score matched. Regression models based on pretest–posttest designs were used to compare procedure type on post-operative outcomes. Results Pre-operatively there were no differences in |RSH| between PSF and VBT, however, at latest post-operative follow-up PSF maintained a larger |RSH| imbalance compared to VBT (0.91 cm vs 0.63 cm, p = 0.021). In an ANCOVA regression, PSF was associated with a larger |RSH| imbalance compared to VBT, F(1, 88) = 5.76, p = 0.019. An ordinal logistic regression found that the odds ratio of being in a worse |RSH| GROUP for PSF vs VBT is 2.788 (95% CI = 1.099 to 7.075), a statistically significant effect χ 2 (1) = 4.658, p = 0.031. Results were similar in subgroup analyses of Lenke 1 and Lenke 2 patients, though to less statistical significance. Conclusion While PSF was found to be associated with worse |RSH| outcomes, the actual numbers (2–3 mm) are unlikely to be clinically meaningful. Thus, in this analysis, VBT can be said to show comparable shoulder balance outcomes to PSF.