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Post by bearmom on Oct 17, 2020 14:57:32 GMT
Dd developed scoliosis between 15-16 with an initial curve of 35’ish degrees. She was followed by one neurosurgeon for two years and her curve changed minimally. He left and went to another hospital and we were given a choice to follow him or stay at the hospital, she was going to be a freshman at the university associated with the hospital so we opted to stay there.
Over the next few visits she saw a very young neurosurgeon (was a resident under doctor #1) who kept saying no surgery, continue to monitor. At her last appointment in late January he said he would discuss her case at the department review board in March as I had a lot of questions. That didn’t happen due to COVID.
I suggested to dd that she get a second opinion with doctor #1, and it took about 6 months for that to happen (that is another story). Her curve is now over 50 degrees and since it is still progressing he is suggesting surgery. She has another appointment in December after a CT scan and new x-rays to talk specifics. Due to her age (21) it is on the edge of being more complicated.
We are looking at the end of the school year, she will have one more year of school finishing up her master’s.
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Post by Minty118 on Oct 17, 2020 15:37:17 GMT
My daughter had a spinal fusion for scoliosis in 2015. She was first diagnosed at 45 degrees. By the time she had the surgery four months later she had progressed to 54 degrees.
The threshold for surgery at that time was 45 degrees. My DD did well because she was only 15 and was a competitive dancer with strong core muscles. That said, she is not completely straight. They were only able to correct her to about 35 degrees and her pelvis is still twisted to the side. 5 years post surgery, she has maintained a status quo.
Definitely get a second opinion from a more experienced orthopedic surgeon, one who specializes in scoliosis. But be prepared for surgery.
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Post by bearmom on Oct 17, 2020 17:14:09 GMT
My daughter had a spinal fusion for scoliosis in 2015. She was first diagnosed at 45 degrees. By the time she had the surgery four months later she had progressed to 54 degrees. The threshold for surgery at that time was 45 degrees. My DD did well because she was only 15 and was a competitive dancer with strong core muscles. That said, she is not completely straight. They were only able to correct her to about 35 degrees and her pelvis is still twisted to the side. 5 years post surgery, she has maintained a status quo. Definitely get a second opinion from a more experienced orthopedic surgeon, one who specializes in scoliosis. But be prepared for surgery. Doctor #1 who we went back to has lots of experience with scoliosis surgery. He is the one who will do the surgery. Good to know about not being completely straight, I think as long as it gets somewhat better and stops the progression will made dd happy. She is very concerned about the progression and then things like pregnancy and how that will affect it. Can I ask how her recovery was? We are talking about dd coming home for a month or two after surgery to recover. Is your dd glad she had the surgery? |
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Post by Minty118 on Oct 17, 2020 17:50:25 GMT
She is very concerned about the progression and then things like pregnancy and how that will affect it. Can I ask how her recovery was? We are talking about dd coming home for a month or two after surgery to recover. Is your dd glad she had the surgery? I specifically asked about pregnancy in the future. We were told that physically she should have no trouble, but any kind of spinal anesthesia could be tricky unless she had an anesthesiologist that was familiar with fusions. My DD's recovery was quite easy, but I attribute that to the physical shape she was in at the time. She was supposed to be in the hospital for 5 days, but went home after three. She only took pain killers for about 10 days and then switched to ibuprofen. Three weeks after the surgery, she started high school on time with no accommodations. She was scared about having the surgery, but she was young. We were told that because of the degree of the curve that she required the surgery because there was no guarantee that the curve wouldn't continue to progress, which could be fatal if her rib cage twisted enough to restrict her breathing. We are glad she had the surgery and she lives a full and complete life. Me being protective, I insist that she still follows weight lifting restrictions, but nothing slows her down. She is a normal, active 20yo. |
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Post by SockMonkey on Oct 17, 2020 18:13:35 GMT
My friend's daughter had a spinal fusion this May, due to an s-curve (over 50º). She recovered VERY well. She got up and moving right away, was walking 6 miles a day by August, and they're really glad that they did it. She is now almost 3" taller!
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samantha25
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,892 
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Post by samantha25 on Oct 17, 2020 20:40:30 GMT
My 11 yo dd at 25 degrees, getting fitted for a brace to hopefully prevent future surgery. Tfs.
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Post by bearmom on Oct 17, 2020 21:42:45 GMT
My 11 yo dd at 25 degrees, getting fitted for a brace to hopefully prevent future surgery. Tfs. Unfortunately dd was one of the weird cases where at her 15 year old well child check there were no issues (or small enough not to mention) by her the next summer I noticed the curve while putting sunscreen on her back and when she we saw the specialist she was at 35’ish degrees. I hope the brace works for your dd and her curve stays where it is now. |
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snappydog
Full Member
Posts: 171
Sept 11, 2014 22:53:41 GMT
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Post by snappydog on Oct 18, 2020 13:27:23 GMT
My daughter had a spinal fusion for scoliosis in 2015. She was first diagnosed at 45 degrees. By the time she had the surgery four months later she had progressed to 54 degrees. The threshold for surgery at that time was 45 degrees. My DD did well because she was only 15 and was a competitive dancer with strong core muscles. That said, she is not completely straight. They were only able to correct her to about 35 degrees and her pelvis is still twisted to the side. 5 years post surgery, she has maintained a status quo. Definitely get a second opinion from a more experienced orthopedic surgeon, one who specializes in scoliosis. But be prepared for surgery. Doctor #1 who we went back to has lots of experience with scoliosis surgery. He is the one who will do the surgery. Good to know about not being completely straight, I think as long as it gets somewhat better and stops the progression will made dd happy. She is very concerned about the progression and then things like pregnancy and how that will affect it. Can I ask how her recovery was? We are talking about dd coming home for a month or two after surgery to recover. Is your dd glad she had the surgery? I could have written Bearmom’s post word for word. My daughter had an “S” that happened quickly. We were already at surgery territory but the time we had a referral to ortho surgeon. My daughter was fused most of her spine to stop both curves at 15. Make sure you only use an experienced surgeon. Get a second opinion also. My daughter is not completely straight either. There is only so much they can do but it does stop the progression of the curves. Sandy |
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