Looking for others - kinked blood vessels

[Analyzing Anne]

My 15 yr old daughter went in a month ago for scoliosis surgery- curves in mid to hi 40's. The surgery was aborted after the doctor made the incision but before proceeding with any instrumentation. In doing the motor check prior to instrumentation, she had no movement in her right leg. An emergency MRI showed a lesion in the chord region from T10 - L1. The doctors can only theorize that due to her scoliosis the space through which her blood vessels to the inner part of her chord at L5 are constricted and with the associated blood pressure drop in anesthesia her blood supply was compromised. She is making a remarkable recovery, now walking and ditching her cane as much as possible. Luckily no muscle or nerve death. We are now not even where we began but three spaces back. I am looking for anyone who has had a similar experience and what was done. Please help.

Analyzing Anne

[LindaRacine]

Hi AA...

While I haven't heard of this happening before, hopefully someone else will know about it. Will you tell us who the surgeon is?

Regards,
Linda

[Carmell]

Hi Anne,

Sorry to hear about your daughter's experience. I guess its a good thing the doc aborted the surgery when he/she did.

Did your daughter have a spine MRI prior to the surgery? Sometimes MRIs are routine, and sometimes not, depending on the surgeon. I wonder if this would have been evident prior to surgery? I'm a little surprised your daughter was having surgery for a 40+ degree curve. Yes, it's significant, but many people walk around without surgery with 40-50 degree curves. I'm sure I don't know the entire story. Interesting tho. Good luck! I wish your daughter a very speedy and full recovery.

[Analyzing Anne]

Bonjour!

This is Anne's daughter, Sarah. I'm the one who had the scoliosis. Carmell, you were surprised that I was having the surgury when I was only in the mid to high 40's. Before (and I guess still) I was having a lot of back pain and a lot of torquing (is that how you spell it???????? ) with my rib cage so my ribs stick out on my left side. Plus, my doctor said that I needed to have the surgery done (and I kinda trust him). There was no indication that an MRI was needed and the doctors don't think the lesion was there ahead of time. It happened during surgery. I have lotsa growing still to do. But, on the plus side, I have recovered enough to go to my schools Cross Country Camp (but I can't run, not that I object to not having to run , but I really wish I could ). But, until the leg gets better, looks like I'm keeping stats while the girls tread 3.1 miles.
Thanks for your well wishes, I really appreciate it!

-Sarah

[Carmell]

Thanks for the update Sarah. Glad to hear you are recovering steadily. Hopefully you'll have a full and complete recovery!

I understand the rotation (torque) of the spine. My daughter's scoliosis is a lumbar curve of 35 degrees. Her rotation of the upper part of her spine makes her waist assymmetric and her right hip stick out and makes her look like she's lopsided. She also has significant pain at times, even when she exercises regularly. That's just part of what her situation is. I understand that each patient is very different.

Are you going to try and have the surgery again once you are recovered? What does your ortho surgeon recommend? Just curious because I'm sure there may be others in similar shoes.

Have a great time at Cross Country Camp! You'll do great keeping stats!

[Analyzing Anne]

Hello!

Anne here. Since Sarah is away - I will answer some of the questions. Her orthopedic surgeons, her neurologists, and her primary care physician all believe she must have the surgery after she has recovered. We are contemplating all the issues at hand.

Does your daughter or others you know notice decrease in lung capacity with exercise and curve progression?

Thanks for the questions.

Anne

[Carmell]

Hi Anne,

My daughter has always complained of not being able to take a full breath. She used to dance and exercise quit a bit. She has very little endurance. Honestly, I don't believe its from the scoliosis. Her scoliosis is a lumbar curve with a minimal upper thoracic curve. The lungs seem to be full size and function well. Her docs believe she has exercise-induced asthma which causes her to feel like she can't get a full breath when exercising. Not sure about this...

My son had reduced lung capacity and function with his severe scoliosis. His lung function has improved from 46% prior to his rod implant surgery to 75% now. Hopefully as he continues to grow, his lung function will continue to maintain or improve. Braydon's situation is not typical of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients. I don't want to have you think reduced lung function is common in all cases.

Depending on where the curve is located in the spine (upper or lower spine) and how much rotation of the spine there is, and how old the patient is... all these things go into consideration when determining if scoliosis is effecting lung function.

Good luck with the recovery and I hope all goes well.