Scheuermann's Surgery

[Oblivion]

Hi,

I am 18 years old and from England. Three years ago I was diagnosed with Scheuermann's disease. I had to have yearly visits to my specialist and he said that my curvature wasn't bad enough to warrant surgery and that it's now matured and won't curve anymore. I still got a lot of frequent pain from it but he said the pain is expected and I will just have to put up with it. However, due to Scheuermann's I also have a chest that curves outwards and not like normal male's chests. These two things have made me very insecure, paranoid and totally destroyed my self-esteem. I have sometimes considered suicide. I was thinking if I could have some more info about Scheuermann's surgery and if they do surgery on the chest as well? I get pain and numbness from my back a lot but no pain in the chest area. Thank you for your time.

Oblivion


Edit: Sorry in a hurry I think I have posted this in the wrong section- my apologies

[nikyergen]

Hello Oblivion,
I have two daughters that each have Scheuermann's Kyphosis. My oldest, 16, could really relate with how you feel. She was teased unmercifusly (spelling??) in school about her back. She also had an extreme amount of back pain with her Scheuermann's Kyphosis. She had surgery on 3/15/05. Her posture is absolutely beautiful and she gained 2 1/4 inches in height. I am so pleased for her.

I wish I could give you an answer on the chest issue, but I can't. However, do look into the Kyphosis issue with the your orthopedic surgeon. It is correctable.

My daughter will tell you that the results from her surgery were worth every bit of discomfort she has had from surgery. She says that today, her back doesn't hurt anymore. Where before it hurt all the time. She went to her prom last night. For the first time, she was anxious to show off her new back. She wasn't ashamed of it. And, boy did the others notice the change in her. Those that didn't know what was different really had to think about it. They knew there was a huge different in something, but couldn't pin point it.

Keep us posted on your search. But, do check with an orthopedic surgeon.

'til later,
nikki

[Mary Lou]

Oblivion,

My daughter had surgery for her Kyphosis four and a half months ago and her chest is noticably different. I'm not sure, but I would guess in my daughter's case, the change is from correcting the rotation of her spine. Her surgery was for Scoliosis and Kyphosis and may be a little different from your case.

Do you remember what degree your doctor said your Kyphosis was? My daughter's was about 72* at the time of surgery and was corrected to about 33*. She looks awesome!

Mary Lou

[Oblivion]

Unfortuantly I forgot the degree curve of my spine but he said that it is not serious enough to really warrant an operation or brace (well he offered a brace and I asked if it would help and at this stage he said it wouldn't really). But if I did have an operation, it's likely that they wouldn't do the chest and back at the same time isn't it? Would I expect A LOT of pain from it?

[Mary Lou]

I don't know if they would do surgery on your chest or not, but my daughter had posterior only surgery and her chest looks fine. You need to find a doctor who deals with Kyphosis in adults. It never hurts to get a second opinion. As for the curve not progressing after skeletal maturity, that's not always true. Some curve do continue after maturity and maybe because of the pain, you would be a candidate for surgery even if the degree isn't really high.

As for the pain issue, every person is different. My daughter has a VERY high tolerance for pain. She was sent home from the hospital with one weeks worth of pain medication and never even finished it, so she was basically off all pain meds in less than two weeks after surgery. Others on this forum use prescription meds for several weeks, but I think it all depends on the person and also whether or not they remove part of your ribs or take bone from your hip, which my they didn't do either on my daughter.

Mary Lou

[Oblivion]

Thanks for all the info so far. It is very heartening to learn about your daughter's own battle. I was wondering, someone told me that people who have spine surgery for Scheuermanns and Scoliosis usually end up limited later in life due to all the goings on that went into their operation (pins, rods etc.) True?