Collis and Ponseti followed 215 middle-aged adults with untreated adolescent idiopathic scoliosis originally seen at the University of Iowa from 1932–1948, surveying functional outcomes, curve progression, pulmonary function, and mortality an average of 24 years later. The study asks: what actually happens to these patients without surgery?
This study provides the foundational natural history data that informs modern surgical decision-making in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. When counseling patients about observation versus surgery, these outcomes represent what happens without intervention.
Collis and Ponseti followed 215 middle-aged adults with untreated adolescent idiopathic scoliosis originally seen at the University of Iowa from 1932–1948, surveying functional outcomes, curve progression, pulmonary function, and mortality an average of 24 years later. The study asks: what actually happens to these patients without surgery?
This study provides the foundational natural history data that informs modern surgical decision-making in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. When counseling patients about observation versus surgery, these outcomes represent what happens without intervention.