A Multicenter Prospective Study of Quality of Life in Adult Scoliosis

Exclusion Criteria

• •Substantial cardiac, pulmonary, renal or metabolic disease that, in the judgment of the surgical team, would preclude performing an operative procedure without undue risk of morbidity and mortality
• •Concomitant high-grade spondylolisthesis (Grade 3)
• •Prior thoracic or multiple level lumbar laminectomy or decompression \[single or two level lumbar decompression (e.g., herniated disc) will not be an exclusion\]
• •Prior thoracic or lumbar fusion
• •Osteoporosis evidence by a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) T-score \<-3.0 at hip or lumbar spine for patients considered to be at risk (post menopausal females, males \> 60 years of age, steroid dependent rheumatoid arthritics, status post organ transplantation, etc.). Patients may be randomized prior to obtaining DEXA results. Non Surgical patients may initiate non surgical treatments prior to completion of DEXA (if required) as non surgical treatments will not affect DEXA results but DEXA must be completed and results entered within 3 months of enrollment. Surgical patient must have DEXA prior to surgical intervention.
• •Neuromuscular scoliosis (e.g., spinal muscular atrophy, cerebral palsy, Parkinson's Disease, post-polio syndrome, Charcot Marie Tooth disease)
• •Congenital scoliosis in the lumbar spine. Congenital anomalies of the cervical or thoracic spine are acceptable.
• •Spine tumor, infection or connective tissue disorder
• •Cognitively impaired or unable/unwilling to comply with follow-up
• •Pregnancy or planning on conceiving during time of study involvement
• •Ankylosing Spondylitis
• •Past history of vertebroplasty or kyphoplasty of the thoracic or lumbar spine