Health For More » General

Scoliosis Information?

(3 posts)

  1. [W]@rPe[D]
    Member

    I have moderate scoliosis of only 30-40 degrees. I'm only 15 years old and I live in Australia but they said that they can't brace me because I have done most of my growing. I have an appointment with ANOTHER specialist in 25 days and I had an MRI yesterday. I'm just wondering what will happen? Because they can't brace me and the first specialist I went to thinks my scoliosis will progress 1 or 2 degrees a year... but my Mum is a nurse and she thinks it has gotten worse by a couple degrees in month and I think it's gotten worse too...

    I just want to know EVERYTHING about the surgery. I know it seems much but.. I am really scared about it and evey story I read is different to the last... So is it painful? Because it's painful now. How long will I have off school? And any other things you think I might need to know?

    Thanks.

    Posted 2 years ago #

  2. FlowersYes
    Member

    Best Answer

    You just may have less pain than you now have depending upon what they will do. Attaching metal pieces to the spine to encourage it to go back toward being more straight is probably the most common right now but I may not have heard of some new technique. You are so lucky to have Mom as a nurse to aggressively find you the best treatment. They use screws to hold a rod to your vertebrae to prevent further curving. Anything else they might do I can't guess as it depends on where your curve is and what they plan to do.

    You'll have to arrange for home schooling for a time, but I can't guess how long as it depends on what is done and how long you must stay in bed and/or a chair.

    Listen, don't be afraid to ask the surgeon all the details. They like it when a patient is interested. Me, I just say to do whatever you have to and wake me when you're done. I don't want all details. Speak up. Being nervous is normal. I'm pretty darn sure you won't have much pain. You'll probably be more sore than in pain.

    Why can't they brace you and then keep changing it as you finish growing?

    Posted 2 years ago #

  3. Ruby
    Member

    Well if you are getting surgery, then after the surgery the pain should go away. Worst case of surgery probably is paralysis, but that is very low risk. I do not think Australia is infamous for poor medical facilities so I would not be worried about paralysis. I do not know about the surgery in detail but you will be put under Anastasia, they will cut into your back and either cut away at some disks or insert small "spacers", probably in recovery for a month or so with pain medication for the early part of it. So if the surgery goes right (which it probably would) you should have a lot less pain if any at all. The progression of the disorder varies between people but if you are already suffering pain, I would recommend you to go into surgery as soon as you can find a spinal surgeon. With spinal surgeries, the only worry is if the surgery is performed by someone with no experience with spinal surgeries.
    Additional info... you probably do not want to practice yoga or golf any time soon. Though when your doctor think you recovered enough, yoga could possibly be great for any lingering pain. Best of luck to you for your recovery.

    Posted 2 years ago #

RSS feed for this topic

Reply

You must log in to post.