Is Tethering Surgery Right for Your Scoliosis Condition? Tethering surgery—often called vertebral body tethering (VBT)—has emerged as a motion preserving alternative to traditional spinal fusion for select patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Rather than rigidly locking the vertebrae together, VBT places a flexible, high strength cord along the convex side of the curve and secures it to screws anchored in the vertebrae. As the...