What should I do?

[Ak5386]

Hi I just dont know what to do and any advice would mean the world to me. I am 23 years old, I was diagnosed with scoliosis when I was 12 years old. I was a competitive dancer and cheerleader my whole life and now that Im older I am more worried about my back then ever. I do not have any pain or limitations what so ever. My lumbar is 43 degres and my thorastic is 32 degrees. 1 surgeon told me I was fine no need to operate another sugeon told me he could get my spine down to 15 degrees and get 2 inches out of me. Im nervous because Im in a stage where I dont know if I should do this since I have so problems or pain. However Im afraid longterm of the problems I could face and then it would be too late to get such a correction out of me. Im scared of all the limitations I would face post surgery. I just dont know what to do, if anyone could give me any advice I would appreciate it greatly. thank you.

Also, if anyone knows of any good surgeons in the Tampa Bay Area that would also help a lot. thank you all again

[Ak5386]

Please if someone can just give me any advice I would appreciate it more than you can imagine. I have no idea what to do and I have a month to decide due to school. please please, someone help give me advice

[Pooka1]

Hi. I'm not the best person to answer and there are many people here who can give you much better answers but I'll try.

I think a key question is to find out if your curve is getting worse and if so, how fast. I am not so sure a surgeon would operate on you at 43* unless there was proof of progression.

I think this is a key fact you need in order to make any decision. The fact hat you have no pain now is important. If you have no pain and no progression then I don't think a surgeon will touch you but I don't know that.

Can you find your medical records and figure out what your progression rate is? You can do this yourself. What were your Cobb angles when you were diagnosed? What were they when you were skeletally mature (at about 16 years old)? These are key data points to have BEFORE you make any treatment decision.

Good luck.

[Nitram]

Hi I just dont know what to do and any advice would mean the world to me. I am 23 years old, I was diagnosed with scoliosis when I was 12 years old. I was a competitive dancer and cheerleader my whole life and now that Im older I am more worried about my back then ever. I do not have any pain or limitations what so ever. My lumbar is 43 degres and my thorastic is 32 degrees. 1 surgeon told me I was fine no need to operate another sugeon told me he could get my spine down to 15 degrees and get 2 inches out of me. Im nervous because Im in a stage where I dont know if I should do this since I have so problems or pain. However Im afraid longterm of the problems I could face and then it would be too late to get such a correction out of me. Im scared of all the limitations I would face post surgery. I just dont know what to do, if anyone could give me any advice I would appreciate it greatly. thank you.

Also, if anyone knows of any good surgeons in the Tampa Bay Area that would also help a lot. thank you all again

Hi there...I am relatively new to this forum but I'll give you my thoughts. I'm 41 at this point and getting ready for surgery next week. My curves are a bit more than yours (65 lumbar, 30 something thoracic) and like you, I have no real pain or issues. However, my lumbar curve has degraded from the 40's five years ago to where it is now so its time to do something. Do you have any idea how your curve is progressing? If its not progressing I wouldn't do a thing and wait to see as your curves really aren't that severe IMHO. I'm no doctor but I wouldn't think the amount of correction would change that much in a couple of years...I'd be tempted to wait and see how things are progressing and then make the decision. I've known for 20+ years I'd likely need surgery at some point, but I chose to wait until I felt it made sense to do it. We'll see how my surgery goes as I may regret that decision. :-)

Anyway, good luck with your decision...there is no right or wrong answer, you need to do what feels like the best thing to do for you.

Rich

[Jimbo]

I am 28, and was in a similar situation to you with similar degree of scoli.

I decided to get the surgery and am extremely pleased with the results. In my opinion, just MY opinion, the surgery is worth the risk.

Do some real hard thinking and soul searching and then decide. The decision will come to you. It all depends really on how much the condition affects you.

[Ak5386]

Thank you all so much for your help and insight on this, it relly has helped me narrow my decision down.

[Ak5386]

I am 28, and was in a similar situation to you with similar degree of scoli.

I decided to get the surgery and am extremely pleased with the results. In my opinion, just MY opinion, the surgery is worth the risk.

Do some real hard thinking and soul searching and then decide. The decision will come to you. It all depends really on how much the condition affects you.

-Where did u get your surgery done? What limitations do you have from the surgery? Can you work out, bend forward?

[rohrer01]

Hi there,
I don't know exactly what to tell you as far as what decision you should make. I can tell you what my experience with scoliosis is. I had severe back pain and was diagnosed with a 39 degree upper thoracic curve at age 16. I was told by doc's at Phoenix Children's Hospital that I would need surgery at 40 degrees. Later at age 29 the curve was measured at 41 degrees at Twin Cities Spine Center in Minneapolis. The doctor felt that two degrees was not enough of a difference to really say it had progressed. Again, I was in pain, but was told that scoliosis was not painful (same thing I was told at PCH) and that surgery would only be done at 50 degrees. Now I see a doctor at UW-Health in Madison, Wisconsin. My curve is now 46 degrees and progressing. I have also developed a larger lower curve (double thoracic). My doctor said that my curve is in the "surgical grey area" and that he would feel that my outcome would be better if I had a more predictable pain pattern. My surgery will be from at least T2 to L1 when I have it. I might add that I am 41 now and have pretty much had pain my whole life, but it is intermittent.

So with that said, I guess if I were you and not having any pain symptoms or progression, I wouldn't rush into a surgery that big. You are still very young and have some good years ahead of you - pain free. On the flip side, if you do have surgery, I would make sure you go to a doctor that specializes in adult scoliosis. I do think the "standard" for surgery is right around 50 degreees. I hope this helps and best wishes in whatever you decide.

[txmarinemom]

Jimbo,

While her curve has some similarities (sizewise) to your pre-op, absent pain, it's a whole different scenario.

Like Sharon, I don't believe a reputable surgeon would operate on a curve like that. Certainly not without documented progression (of the significant sort).

Regards,
Pam