The relation between idiopathic scoliosis and the frontal and lateral facial form

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relation between idiopathic scoliosis and facial deformity in the horizontal, vertical, and anteroposterior planes. METHODS A total of 123 female patients aged 14 years or older, who visited the Spine Clinic at the Department of Orthopedics, Korea University Guro Hospital for treatment of idiopathic scoliosis, were enrolled. Whole-spine anteroposterior and lateral radiographs were taken with the patient in a naturally erect position, and frontal and lateral cephalograms were taken in an erect position with the Frankfort horizontal line parallel to the floor. Scoliosis was classified according to the Cobb angle and Lenke classification of six curve types. Cephalometric tracing in all cases was carried out with V-Ceph 5.5 by the same orthodontist. The Kruskal-Wallis test was performed to determine whether any relation existed between each group of the idiopathic scoliosis classification and the cephalometric measurements of frontal and lateral cephalograms. RESULTS The measurements did not reveal any significant association between the Cobb angle and cephalometric measurements and between the curve type based on the Lenke classification and cephalometric measurements. CONCLUSIONS Based on the results of this study, no apparent relation was observed between the severity of scoliosis and facial form variations in idiopathic scoliosis patients.