Scoliosis... My story

Mike,
When my son was 16, he had a 54 degree curve. Rods were put in and 7 days later he walked out of the hospital on his own. He was opened up from the base of his neck to his left hip. Bone from his hip and bone bank were also used to fuse his spine. He recovered very quickly He grew a couple inches getting straightened up. His mobility was affected a little, but not as much as you would think. Most of your bending is done at the hip, so you will do fine. You will be able to do everything you have always did, just with a straight back, and no twisting. Growith will stop in your back, but everything else will continue until you quit growing. Prayers are with you!
Dave
 
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As some one with S.S. screws in my colarbone and a few surgerys to hands etc I know how you feel, keep up your great attitude and find a good Doc.
We will keep you in our prayers. :42:
Michael
 
Thanks Dave. It helps to hear success stories like your son.

Thanks Michael, we will have two consultations and decide who we like best. One Friday the 20th, and the other being Wednesday the 25th.
 
Dear Mike I hope the prognosis is good , scoliosis can be very debilitating and painfull . I also have scoliosis , 25 degree right lateral. Wish I would have had some corrective surgery when I was young . I do use an inversion table and sometimes I get traction. Too old for surgery. I wish you all the luck I can send you . Bubba
 
bubba-san said:
Dear Mike I hope the prognosis is good , scoliosis can be very debilitating and painfull . I also have scoliosis , 25 degree right lateral. Wish I would have had some corrective surgery when I was young . I do use an inversion table and sometimes I get traction. Too old for surgery. I wish you all the luck I can send you . Bubba
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Bubba, that's part of the reason why I wouldn't mind having surgery now is so I don't have to have pain later on. Also, at at least 40 degrees or so, the curve will likely get worse by 1 to 2 degrees each year, so that's why I may be a candidate for surgery. A year and a half ago, I was right around 25 degrees without any much pain, but now that I KNOW it's 40, I'm realizing that a lot of my back pain is probably from that (not JUST sore from work or standing all day etc.). I wish you luck, Bubba, that you will have a pain free life.
 
Best wishes Mike... I'm rootin' for you youngin'! You're young & strong... take it slow, day by day and good healing. Today I finish up 16 treatments of chemotherapy.
 
My mom just picked up my x ray today from the hospital, and I took a picture of it to show you guys how it is. I measured the distances, calculated some, and determined that with a 100% fix, I would be about an inch and a half taller.

spine.png
 
Well the first consultation was a surprise. The doctor measured the x rays (taken today) and got 49 degrees on top and 50 degrees on bottom. He then went on to tell us that it looks like I may be done growing so surgery might not be the best option. He said I really am borderline with either way, but he would rather wait and see if my spine is stabilizing in this degree or worsening. If it's worsening (in 4 months) then he suggests surgery for sure, but if it's the same, then we'd see in more time.

I have a consultation with another surgeon on Wednesday to see if they agree, disagree, or what another professional has to say about it. Last I knew, surgery was thought about at 40, and that 50 was significantly higher (25%) than 40... But I haven't been in medical school for 8 years learning about all of this, and I haven't seen the effects of surgery of my career either.
 
I imagine it's tough to not get a quick answer. Hang in there brother, it seems you're doing the right thing by getting plenty of info and taking some time to sort it all out. I know all us Dogs will keep you and your family in our thoughts and prayers!
 
Today I had the consultation with the other surgeon. I liked him a lot better. He showed us exactly what the curves are, what he was looking at, and explained to us that he agrees with the "let's check it again in 4 months" but he has a different idea about the surgery. He is pretty sure my curves will progress at about 1 to 2 degrees each year, so the question is not whether to have surgery or not, but when to have it. He also suggested fusing part of my spine, leaving some curve in both the upper and lower to remain balanced, while straightening the spine by 20+ degrees in both curves. Leaving the lower back region unfused would help tremendously in decreasing my chance later in life of having lower back pain, so having some curve instead of pain sounds like a pretty decent trade.

He also took an x-ray to see how flexible my spine was, and because I'm still young, the lumbar was surprisingly flexible. That's good news. So in December, I have a check-up on it with more x-rays, then we will start talking surgery. He said that the surgery is not urgent, so waiting until summer (since school already started) would be a great option (to make sure the lumbar is not worsening, and to make sure I don't miss tons of class)


Thank you all for your prayers -- they've helped me see a positive outlook on the experience.
 
Here's an update. In December, I had a 4 month followup, took x rays of different positions to show the level of flexibility in my spine. The Doctor looked at the x rays and today I had the followup of the followup. The good news is that it looks like my lumbar curve appears to be very flexible still. It seems like the thoracic curve got worse, and the lumbar corrected itself so I could stand pretty straight, instead of leaning over. He said that he could PROBABLY be able to fix the thoracic curve and the lumbar would immediately straighten itself out.


As of right now, surgery would take place during my spring break from school, early April, and I would be in the hospital for 3 days, and be pretty much back to full strength after 3 months. Activity would only be limited by my level of pain. He actually even said I will likely feel pretty much back to normal after only one month!



Unfortunately though, he won't know about my lumbar spine correcting itself until the day of operation. He would need to put me under general anesthetic, and hopefully, immediately the lower spine would straighten out.
 
Just saw this thread for the first time. Glad you're being careful selecting the doctor. Best wishes for smooth surgery and quick, uncomplicated healing.
 
Hi Mike,
When my son was 16, he had a 53 degree curve in his back. He was opened up from the base of his neck to his left hip. Rods were put in, along with bone from the bone bank, and some from his hip. On the 7th day, he walked out of the hospital and down steps on his own. We were close by, just in case. He did it with NO problems. Most of his bending was done at the hip, but lost his twisting ability. It really didn't affect him to much negatively. He is no longer with us, dew to complications from muscular dystrophy. He passed 9 years ago, while my wife and I held his hand.
I wouldn't be too afraid of having this surgery done. You will be able to do almost everything you do now. Will be praying for you.........Good Luck!
 
Sorry to hear about your back and spine problems I hope everthing turns out OK . I also have some scoliosis , med mild right lateral thoracic . I have beeen hanging from rafters for 20 years to relieve pain . I also use gravity bed . good luck on your surgery ,you are young man and you should be fine . Regards Bubba-san
 
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Thanks for all the positive words everyone. Some people have PMed me a few times and referenced this thread, which I really appreciate people caring. So I felt obligated to update everyone with any news that I found out.

arrow, I'm really sorry to hear about your son. I know a guy with muscular dystrophy, and he's obviously getting worse. It must have been really hard to go through all of the battles with that disorder. Sure makes my problem seem a whole lot more minor.
 
TY for the update glad you havefound a good surgen and will keep you in our prayers for a complete recovery.
Michael
 
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