The 100 Classic Papers in Spinal Deformity Surgery

Bibliometric review of the literature.

To identify and analyze the top 100 cited articles in spinal deformity surgery.

The field of spinal deformity surgery is an ever-growing and complex field that owes its development to the work and visions of many dedicated individuals.

The authors searched the Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge for citations of all articles relevant to scoliosis and spinal deformity surgery. The number of citations, authorship, year, journal, and country and institution of publication were recorded for each article.

The most cited article was the 2001 work by Lenke et al. describing a new 2-dimensional classification system of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis used to determine the appropriate vertebral levels to be included in an arthrodesis. The second most cited was Harrington's 1962 article describing the first instrumented method for the treatment of scoliosis. The third most cited article was the 1983 study by King et al. recommending specific vertebral levels for inclusion into spinal arthrodesis. Most articles originated in the United States (62), and most were published in Spine (32). Most were published in the 1990s (28), and the 3 most common topics, in descending order, were adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (28), spinal instrumentation (18), and surgical complications (5). Author Suk had 5 articles in the top 100 list, whereas authors Kim, Liljenqvist, Lonstein, and Weinstein had 3 each. Washington University in St. Louis had 7 articles in the top 100 list.

This report's identification of the 100 classic articles in spinal deformity surgery allows insight into the development and trends of this challenging subspecialty of spine surgery. Furthermore, this article identifies individuals who have contributed the most to the advancement of spinal deformity surgery and the body of knowledge used to guide evidence-based clinical decision making in spinal deformity surgery today.