Minimally Invasive Surgery versus Open Surgery for Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is being recommended over more invasive methods. MIS advantages are less time in the operating room, less blood loss, a shorter recovery time, and shorter length of stay. A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed using the literature from minimally invasive and open surgery for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). We conducted this analysis to see whether MIS has advantages over traditional surgery. A systematic review was conducted using PubMed, Embase, and Scopus to find articles comparing minimally invasive and open surgery techniques for AIS patients. Data extraction and meta-analysis were completed. The primary data points collected were correction rate and functional outcomes, including perioperative and postoperative parameters. A total of six studies were included in the final analysis. The MIS group had 123 patients, and the open surgery group had 150 patients. The correction rate and functional outcomes favored the open surgery group with a mean difference of 4.60 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.08 to 9.12) and 0.11 (95% CI, 0.04 to 0.17), respectively. The duration of surgery, blood loss, number of patients requiring transfusion, and analgesic requirements favored the MIS group with a significant difference. Open surgery is better than MIS in achieving a better correction rate and good functional outcomes. MIS is better over open surgery when perioperative parameters are considered.