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Background Context: Proximal junctional kyphosis (PJK) is a common complication of deformity correction for degenerative kyphoscoliosis (DKS) with an incidence between 20% and 40%. Multiple techniques have been proposed to prevent PJK, however, the clinical efficacy of these techniques remains unclear. Here, we investigate the influence of thoracic tri-cortical pedicle screw (TPS) in the most cranial instrumented segment on PJK., Purpose: To evaluate the clinical outcomes and mechanical complications in corrective surgery for DKS at a minimum 2-year follow-up using TPS compared to a control group., Study Design: Retrospective study PATIENT SAMPLE: 115 patients with DKS from January 2020 to April 2022 OUTCOME MEASURE: Patient reported outcome measures included: SRS-22, ODI, VAS scores. Radiographic measures included: Cobb angle, coronal balance distance (CBD), regional kyphosis (RK), and sagittal vertical axis (SVA)., Methods: Patients were divided into two groups: 67 patients in TPS group and 48 patients who with traditional pedicle screws in the most cranial instrumented segment in control group. The radiographic parameters were measured pre-, post-operative period, and at the last follow-up. Complications, including PJK, proximal junctional failure (PJF), and intercostal neuralgia were recorded. PJK was defined as: 10° or higher increase in kyphosis angle which between the inferior endplate of upper instrumented vertebra (UIV) and the superior endplate of the UIV + 2 (PJA). PJF was defined as: fracture of UIV or UIV + 1, need for proximal extension of fusion, or implant failure of UIV., Results: There was no significant difference in pre-operative radiographic parameters between two groups. After surgery, the Cobb angle of the major curve improved significantly in both groups (36.7°±20.4° to 15.3°±11.5° in TPS group, 37.1°±16.0° to 16.8°±9.0° in control group, P<0.001). Significant improvements in RK, CBD, and SVA were observed after surgery, and no loss of correction was found during follow-up (P > 0.05). Patients in both groups had significant improvement in health-relative quality of life (HRQoL) scores, including SRS-22, ODI score (46.5±16.2 to 21.3±13.2 in TPS group; 44.7±18.6 to 23.8±16.4 in control group; P < 0.05), and VAS (6.5±2.2 to 2.1±1.6 in TPS group; 6.0±2.9 to 2.3±2.2 in control group; P < 0.05). During the follow-up period, two patients in TPS group developed PJK (3.0%), compared to 13 patients in the control group (27.1%) (P<0.001). Notably, 5 patients in TPS group developed intercostal neuralgia which was not observed in control group, though all had full recovery following conservative treatment during three weeks., Conclusion: TPS fixation technique at the most cranial segment can produce satisfactory clinical outcomes in the surgical correction of DKS with a lower risk of PJK. However, it does incur a higher risk for intercostal neuralgia, likely from nerve root irritation from the screw., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have no personal, financial, or institutional interest in any of the drugs, materials, or devices described in this article., (Copyright © 2025. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Study Design: A retrospective radiographical study investigated the sagittal alignment in healthy Chinese girls and Chinese girls with idiopathic thoracic scoliosis (T-AIS)., Objective: To evaluate the sagittal alignment of the pelvis and spine in Chinese girls with idiopathic scoliosis and healthy girls and to assess whether the pelvic morphology differed between white and Chinese girls with AIS., Summary of Background Data: It has been shown that patients with AIS have an abnormal spinopelvic balance and pelvic morphology. Race is a determinant factor of sagittal spinal alignment and serves as a reminder when planning surgical reconstruction for spinal deformity. Until now, there have been no studies documenting the sagittal lumbosacral spine morphology in Chinese girls with T-AIS., Methods: In this study, 95 patients with T-AIS and 33 healthy age-matched adolescents were recruited consecutively. Sagittal spinal and pelvic parameters were measured from the standing lateral radiograph, including thoracic kyphosis (TK), lumbar lordosis (LL), upper arc of LL, lower arc of LL, pelvic incidence (PI), sacrum slope (SS), and pelvic tilt (PT). Analysis of variance was used in the comparison of each dependent variable between patients with AIS and healthy adolescents. The relations between all parameters were determined via Pearson correlation coefficient (r)., Results: For all the sagittal parameters, only the TK and the upper arc of the LL showed significant differences between girls with AIS and healthy girls. The LL, lower arc of the LL, and 3 pelvic parameters were similar for both groups. The TK was found to be strongly correlated with LL and the upper arc of the LL in both groups. However, the TK was not related to the lower arc of the LL, nor were the 3 pelvic parameters in either group. In addition, LL was found to be associated with PI and SS in both groups. The lower arc of the LL was also correlated with PI for both groups. The PI was related to PT and SS in both groups; however, no correlation was found between PT and SS. In this study, the TK (15.7°), SS (35.1°), and PI (44.2°) were found to be significantly lower in Chinese patients with T-AIS than the values reported in the AIS cohort., Conclusion: In our study, the Chinese girls with T-AIS had similar PI, PT, and SS values when compared with the age-matched healthy girls. There were significant differences in pelvic morphology between Chinese and white girls with AIS. These results suggest that race may influence an individual's spinopelvic morphology. Although we have shown that the TK could affect LL through the upper arc of the LL directly, the evaluation of the thoracolumbar morphology of T-AIS before surgery is important for surgical planning.