The efficacy of anterior vertebral body tethering in lenke type 6 curves for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis

Spinal fusion is the standard treatment for severe forms of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). However, with the lowest instrumented vertebra that is usually located at L3 or L4, patients are prone to develop adjacent segment degeneration in the long term. Vertebral body tethering (VBT) as motion preserving technique has become an alternative for select patients with AIS. Several studies have presented the outcome after thoracic VBT but no study has analyzed the outcome after VBT for Lenke type 6 curves. This is a retrospective single center data analysis of patients who have had bilateral VBT for Lenke type 6 curves and a minimum follow up of 24 months. Radiographic analysis was performed on several time points. Suspected tether breakages were additionally analyzed with respect to location and time at occurrence. 25 patients were included. Immediate thoracic curve correction was 55.4