Simulation of the postoperative trunk appearance in scoliosis surgery

Persistence of external trunk asymmetry after scoliosis surgical treatment is frequent and difficult to predict by clinicians. This is a significant problem considering that correction of the apparent deformity is a major factor of satisfaction for the patients. A simulation of the correction on the external appearance would allow the clinician to illustrate to the patient the potential result of the surgery and would help in deciding on a surgical strategy that could most improve his/her appearance. We describe a method to predict the scoliotic trunk shape after a spine surgical intervention. The capability of our method was evaluated using real data of scoliotic patients. Results of the qualitative evaluation were very promising and a quantitative evaluation based on the comparison of the simulated and the actual postoperative trunk surface showed an adequate accuracy for clinical assessment. The required short simulation time also makes our approach an eligible candidate for a clinical environment demanding interactive simulations.