Preoperative Radiographic Planning of Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: Educational Corner

Background: scoliosis is defined as a three-dimensional spinal deformity diagnosed with lateral curvature and axial vertebral rotation (1). the most common type is adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (ais), which manifests in healthy children at 10 years of age and older, especially in girls (1, 2). despite advances in the treatment of scoliosis, treatment planning of progressive adolescent scoliosis remains a significant challenge. it is now well known that untreated scoliosis in the adults can lead to painful spinal osteoarthritis, progressive deformity, spinal stenosis with radiculopathy, muscle fatigue from coronal and sagittal plane imbalance, and the psychological effects with the decrease in quality of life (3). this educational corner aims to prepare a simple step-by-step guideline of pre- operation evaluation and planning of ais for orthopedic surgeons and residents.