Osteotomies/spinal column resections in adult deformity

Osteotomies may be life saving procedures for patients with rigid severe spinal deformity. Several different types of osteotomies have been defined by several authors. To correct and provide a balanced spine with reasonable amount of correction is the ultimate goal in deformity correction by osteotomies. Selection of osteotomy is decided by careful preoperative assessment of the patient and deformity and the amount of correction needed to have a balanced spine. Patient’s general medical status and surgeon’s experience levels are the other factors for determining the ideal osteotomy type. There are different osteotomy options for correcting deformities, including the Smith-Petersen osteotomy (SPO), pedicle subtraction osteotomy (PSO), bone-disc-bone osteotomy (BDBO) and vertebral column resection (VCR) providing correction of the sagittal and multiplanar deformity. SPO refers to a posterior column osteotomy in which the posterior ligaments and facet joints are removed and a mobile anterior disc is required for correction. PSO is performed by removing the posterior elements and both pedicles, decancellating vertebral body, and closure of the osteotomy by hinging on the anterior cortex. BDBO is an osteotomy that aims to resect the disc with its adjacent endplate(s) in deformities with the disc space as the apex or center of rotational axis (CORA). VCR provides the greatest amount of correction among other osteotomy types with complete resection of one or more vertebral segments with posterior elements and entire vertebral body including adjacent discs. It is also important to understand sagittal imbalance and the surgeon must consider global spino-pelvic alignment for satisfactory long-term results. Vertebral osteotomies are technically challenging but effective procedures for the correction of severe adult deformity and should be performed by experienced surgeons to prevent catastrophic complications.