Researchers conducted a retrospective case series study. Using the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery Part II Oral Examination Candidate Case, they sought to assess trends and consequences following posterior spinal instrumented fusion for deformity with/without pelvic fixation. From 2008 to 2017, there was a list of data. Surgical cases submitted by candidates with a self-designated sub-specialty of spine surgery who took the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery Part II Oral Examination between 2008 and 2017, were retrospectively evaluated. Candidates’ reported complications, mortality, readmission/reoperation data, and mortality were tracked throughout time. Causation rates and time-related trends were assessed using bivariate testing and multivariable Poisson analyses. Between 2008 and 2017, a total of 37,539 instances were submitted. A total of 461 cases (1.2%) were for deformity, with 60 of these using pelvic fixation (13% of deformity cases). Medical, surgical, and overall complication rates for all deformity cases were 17%, 22.3%, and 31.5%, respectively. Multivariable analyses revealed no difference in surgical/overall complication rates between the spinopelvic and nonspinopelvic instrumented groups but a low number of patients using spinopelvic fixation throughout time. Newly trained spinal surgeons routinely conducted a small number of deformity cases with actual complication rates that remained stable over time.
