Our 6 y/o daughter was recently diagnosed with a 30 degree thoracic curve. We finally saw the pediatric orthopedist last week, who by the way is a pediatric scoliosis specialist listed on the Scoliosis Research Society's physician list. We have done a lot of research on our own, but the doctor really didn't give us any info about the "big picture" of how this will likely affect our daughter. He said we could observe her for 6 months, he mentioned casting, and he suggested a Providence night time brace if we wanted to brace her now. He didn't seem to think there was any hurry to brace her. When I finally pressed him, he said he is sure she will need surgery in the future (fusion or growing rods), so it seemed that he felt like it's no big deal to just let her go until she needs a major surgery. Does anyone have any experience with the Providence brace? We have concerns about bracing due to possible rib/chest wall deformities caused by the brace, and about the long course of bracing that our daughter would face. We live in Oregon, so SpineCor is not an option. I wore a Boston Brace myself for two years as a young teenager, and really hated it, so I am personally biased against bracing for my own daughter. I felt the doctor was a little unkind when he told me that I am letting my negative experience with my brace color my opinions about my daighter's treatment. Those years in a brace affected me deeply, and the experience is a part of me now, like it or not.
We have also been actively researching VBS and have an evaluation with Dr. Betz in Philadelphia in a couple of days (no flames please). We have high hopes for this treatment.
If anyone has any experience with the Providence brace we would love to hear about it, especially in younger JIS patients.
Thanks, Gayle
We have also been actively researching VBS and have an evaluation with Dr. Betz in Philadelphia in a couple of days (no flames please). We have high hopes for this treatment.
If anyone has any experience with the Providence brace we would love to hear about it, especially in younger JIS patients.
Thanks, Gayle
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