PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Alvin Y. Chan
AU  - Nima Alan
AU  - S. Harrison Farber
AU  - James J. Zhou
AU  - Luke K. O’Neill
AU  - Juan S. Uribe
TI  - Minimally Invasive Surgery Strategies to Prevent Proximal Junctional Kyphosis
AID  - 10.14444/8511
DP  - 2023 Oct 01
TA  - International Journal of Spine Surgery
PG  - S58--S64
VI  - 17
IP  - S2
4099  - https://www.ijssurgery.com/content/17/S2/S58.short
4100  - https://www.ijssurgery.com/content/17/S2/S58.full
SO  - Int J Spine Surg2023 Oct 01; 17
AB  - Proximal junctional kyphosis (PJK) is a common complication following long-segment thoracolumbar fusions for patients with adult spinal deformities. PJK is described as a progressive kyphosis at the upper instrumented vertebra or 1 or 2 segments adjacent to the instrumented vertebra. This condition can lead to proximal junction failure, which results in vertebral body fractures, screw pullouts, and neurological deficits. Revision surgery is necessary to address symptomatic PJK. Research efforts have been dedicated to elucidating risk factors and prevention strategies. It has been postulated that minimally invasive surgery (MIS) techniques may help prevent PJK because these techniques aim to preserve the soft tissue integrity at the top of the construct and maintain posterior element support. In this article, the authors define PJK, describe MIS strategies to prevent PJK, and compare PJK rates after MIS with PJK rates after open approaches for long-segment thoracolumbar fusion.