Surgery to Remove Wedge Vertebrae -- info needed please

[bluegray]

Hi -- I am writing in the hopes that some of you may have some knowledge about Surgery to Remove a Wedge Vertebrae -- such as success rates, long-term effects on the child (good or bad), the recovery period, advice you can offer, things to be aware of, etc.

Here's the background:

Our five year old daughter has been just diagnosed with congential scoliosis, caused by a wedge vertebrae in the lumbar (i.e., lower) section of her back. As a result, she has a 40 degree curve in the lower section of her back, although it is not visible when you look at her.

How it was found: She was being x-rayed for pain in her hip (that later went away) and the scoliosis was discovered 'by accident.' Although the curve looks very prominent on the x-ray, no one (including doctors) ever caught it when looking at her from 'the outside'. You really can't tell she has it. There are no visible signs of trunk malformation and she is very active and flexible and has no physical limitations.

Right now, we have seen a pediatric orthopedist and are in the 'wait and see if it gets worse stage.' Our daughter is going back for a second x-ray in four months, to see if it has progressed. She will also be getting an MRI soon to look at tissues in the area, etc.

The orthopedist thinks it is most likely the curve will become worse due to two factors: (1) that our daughter is young and there is lots of growing time left, and (2) because the curve is in the lumbar/lower section, this apparently creates more problems than curves that are higher up.

If it does progress (and we of course hope it does not -- and the doctor said that although that *could* happen, it doesn't look likely) surgery is apparently the next/only option.

The doctor said the most likely course would be to do surgery to remove the wedge vertebrae and 'correct' the position of her spine. If/when that happens, we do not want to rush into anything and want to learn as much as we can.

So... have you, or anyone you know, ever had a child with scoliosis caused by a wedge vertebrae or similar malformation? How did the child progress? If surgery was done, how did it go? What were the results (good or bad)? What is the recovery period like? Any other thoughts?

Any information you can provide would be *very* much appreciated. Thank you.

bluehazelgray@yahoo.com

[greggo72]

My daughter Ariana has congenital kyphosis T12/T13-L2. You should really ask your doctor what does he mean when he says remove the wedge? Is he talking about spinal fusion? And if he is there are many types of fusion. Which type is he talking about. You should really do as much research as possible before you see the doctor and then bring a list of questions to your appt. When you get his answers you can then do some more research on the web this forum etc. When my daughter had her first surgery we didn't ask any questions and blindly went along with the doctors. We realized that was a mistake, since the first surgery failed. We have since then got 4 opionions on the surgery she is getting on march 28th, and the only thing those doctors agreed with is that having the first surgery was a mistake, so don't be afraid to ask questions and don't be afraid to disagree with the doctor remember they are NOT all knowing.. Best of Luck Cindy

[bluegray]

Thanks and best of luck to you, too.