Impact of prone surgical positioning on the scoliotic spine

Abstract

Objective: To study the impact of patient-specific prone positioning on the sagittal and coronal curves of scoliotic spines, including the impact of various patient and surgical frame factors.

Summary of background data: Prone operative positioning has been shown to impact the geometry of various individual spinal segments. Its impact on global spinal geometry and influential factors remains unknown.

Methods: Lateral and coronal radiographs were acquired of 6 scoliotic patients while standing, prone on a dynamically adjustable surgical frame and intraoperatively on the Relton-Hall frame. Standing lateral bending radiographs were also acquired. Lordosis, kyphosis, and Cobb angles were measured in each position. Personalized finite element models (FEMs), including the spine, ribcage, pelvis, and lower limbs were generated for each patient based on their standing radiographs. The FEM's ability to reproduce prone spinal geometry was evaluated by using different values of intervertebral disc elastic moduli: published, optimized based on lateral bending radiographs and optimized based on prone radiographs. The 6 FEMs were then exploited to study the impact of surgical frame cushion configuration, standing curve magnitudes, and patient weight on spinal geometry changes due to prone positioning.

Results: All coronal and sagittal curves decreased in the prone position; averaging 12% in lordosis, 19% in kyphosis, 7%, 14%, and 26%, respectively, for proximal thoracic, main thoracic, and thoracolumbar/lumbar Cobb angles. FEM prone simulations yielded best results when optimized by using the prone position radiographs (Δ<5 degrees for all segmental curves). Lateral bending optimization yielded similar results by using published properties. Surgical frame cushion configuration, standing curve magnitudes, and patient weight all had an important impact on spinal geometries with the exception of thoracic cushion longitudinal position. A strong correlation (R=0.86) was found between standing kyphosis and its reduction in the prone position.

Conclusions: Prone positioning results in a reduction of all spinal segmental curves which is dependent on a number of patient and surgical frame factors.