Background The minimally invasive treatment for adult degenerative scoliosis has become more and more popular. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of stand-alone oblique lateral interbody fusion for the treatment of adult degenerative scoliosis in terms of clinical and radiological outcomes. Methods A total of 18 patients with ADS who underwent stand-alone OLIF in our hospital from July 2017 to May 2018 were enrolled in the study. Clinical evaluations were performed with visual analogue scale (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI). Radiographic outcomes were recorded in terms of coronal Cobb angle and lumbar lordosis. Results Mean patient age was 62.4 years, 50% of patients were female. Average follow up was 18.4 months. The average operative duration was 87.4 minutes, whilst the mean estimated blood loss was 45.6 ml. Mean coronal Cobb angle corrected from preoperative 15.2° to the final follow-up 6.8° (p < 0.05); and mean lumbar lordosis improved from preoperative 30.0° to 39.4° (p < 0.05). Mean disc height increased from preoperative 0.7 cm to 1.1 cm at final follow-up (p < 0.05). Mean VAS improved from 5.5 to 2.2 (p < 0.05). The mean preoperative and the final follow-up Oswestry Disability Indices were 27.8% and 13.1% respectively (p < 0.05). Conclusions Stand-alone OLIF could be regarded as an efficient and safe option in the treatment of ADS for careful selected patients.
