title: Preoperative and Postoperative Pulmonary Function in Elderly Patients with Thoracolumbar Kyphoscoliosis.
abstract: METHODS
  Case series.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to investigate the change in pulmonary function in adult patients with a spinal deformity who underwent spinal corrective surgery.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Degenerative lumbar and/or thoraco-lumbar deformities are is often prominent in adult spinal deformity cases, whereas a thoracic deformity involving the chest wall is inconspicuous. A lumbar spine deformity could affect the pulmonary function; however, few reports have investigated pulmonary function in adult patients with a spinal deformity.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study included 14 adult patients with a spinal deformity who underwent posterior corrective fusion (3 males, 11 females; mean age, 67.4 years). We measured percent vital capacity (%VC) and percent forced expiratory volume in 1 second (%FEV1) before surgery and six months after surgery. We investigated the change in pulmonary function after corrective surgery and the correlation between radiographic parameters and pulmonary function.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean preoperative %VC and %FEV1 values were 99.9% and 79.3%, respectively. Two cases were diagnosed with restrictive impairment, and two cases were diagnosed with obstructive impairment before surgery. %VC improved in the restrictive impairment cases six months after surgery. However, %FEV1 did not improve significantly after surgery in the obstructive impairment cases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Restrictive impairment was improved in adult patients with a spinal deformity by corrective spinal surgery. However, spinal surgery did not improve obstructive impairment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan.
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yasuda
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomohiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamato
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan.
authors.forename: Sho
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan.
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Togawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan.
authors.forename: Yukihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsuyama
keywords: Adult spinal deformity; Obstructive impairment; Pulmonary function; Restrictive impairment