Long-Term Magnetic Resonance Imaging Follow-up Demonstrates Minimal Transitional Level Lumbar Disc Degeneration After Posterior Spine Fusion for Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis

Abstract

Despite demonstrating an accelerated rate of L5-S1 disc degeneration, our study group has good functional scores and maintenance of correction over 10 years postfusion. In this long-term MR imaging follow-up study, disc degeneration was found remote to the lowest instrumented vertebra.