About the Authors

Elisa M. S. Tam

Affiliations Department of Orthopaedics & Traumatology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China, Joint Scoliosis Research Center of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Nanjing University, Hong Kong, China

Fiona W. P. Yu

Affiliations Department of Orthopaedics & Traumatology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China, Joint Scoliosis Research Center of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Nanjing University, Hong Kong, China

Vivian W. Y. Hung

Affiliation Department of Orthopaedics & Traumatology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

Zhen Liu

Affiliations Spine Surgery, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China, Joint Scoliosis Research Center of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Nanjing University, Hong Kong, China

King Lok Liu

Affiliations Department of Orthopaedics & Traumatology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China, Joint Scoliosis Research Center of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Nanjing University, Hong Kong, China

Bobby K. W. Ng

Affiliations Department of Orthopaedics & Traumatology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China, Joint Scoliosis Research Center of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Nanjing University, Hong Kong, China

Simon K. M. Lee

Affiliation Lee Hysan Clinical Research Laboratory, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

Yong Qiu

Affiliations Spine Surgery, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China, Joint Scoliosis Research Center of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Nanjing University, Hong Kong, China

Jack C. Y. Cheng

Affiliations Department of Orthopaedics & Traumatology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China, Joint Scoliosis Research Center of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Nanjing University, Hong Kong, China

Tsz-Ping Lam

tplam@ort.cuhk.edu.hk

Affiliations Department of Orthopaedics & Traumatology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China, Joint Scoliosis Research Center of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Nanjing University, Hong Kong, China

Competing Interests

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Author Contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments: JC TPL SL ET YQ ZL. Performed the experiments: ET FY VH. Analyzed the data: ET FY VH. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: ZL YQ KL BN. Wrote the paper: ET TPL SL JC. Patients recruitment: ET FY TPL KL BN.