Possible surgery, getting 2nd opinion

[lray]

Hello everyone,

I had a consultation with an orthopedic surgeon about 3 months ago. I am 49 years old, was diagnosed with thoracic scoliosis about the age of 12. I wore a Milwaukee brace (ugggh) for about 2 years then gave up. Since then my spine has continued to get worse, now at about 55 degrees. The orthopedic surgeon recommends surgery as he feels it will only get worse as I get older and it's best to do it now while I'm fairly young and in good health.

I am requesting a 2nd opinion from Dr Gupta in Sacramento because he is a scoliosis specialist. The surgeon that I saw initially is not - plus I am just not comfortable with him and it is very important to me to be comfortable and confident with a physician who is performing such a serious surgery.

My question for anyone is this: I do not have back pain. Once in a while my back gets sore from sitting or standing for long periods of time, but I do not have pain like many people comment here. That to me would be a good reason for the surgery. Has anyone had surgery when they had NO pain & the surgery was to 1) help straighten the spine, and 2) prevent it from getting worse.

Thanks!

[LindaRacine]

Hello everyone,

I had a consultation with an orthopedic surgeon about 3 months ago. I am 49 years old, was diagnosed with thoracic scoliosis about the age of 12. I wore a Milwaukee brace (ugggh) for about 2 years then gave up. Since then my spine has continued to get worse, now at about 55 degrees. The orthopedic surgeon recommends surgery as he feels it will only get worse as I get older and it's best to do it now while I'm fairly young and in good health.

I am requesting a 2nd opinion from Dr Gupta in Sacramento because he is a scoliosis specialist. The surgeon that I saw initially is not - plus I am just not comfortable with him and it is very important to me to be comfortable and confident with a physician who is performing such a serious surgery.

My question for anyone is this: I do not have back pain. Once in a while my back gets sore from sitting or standing for long periods of time, but I do not have pain like many people comment here. That to me would be a good reason for the surgery. Has anyone had surgery when they had NO pain & the surgery was to 1) help straighten the spine, and 2) prevent it from getting worse.

Thanks!

Hi...

I'm glad to hear that you're getting another opinion.

With an absence of pain, I'm guessing that Dr. Gupta will recommend that you wait and see how your curve progresses over the next several years. I would definitely not rush into anything yet. Having surgery at 55 probably isn't that much harder than having it at 49.

I have a quiz on my website, that discusses some considerations for having/not having scoliosis surgery. You might find it helpful.

http://www.scoliosislinks.com/ShouldYouHaveSurgery.htm

Regards,
Linda

[lray]

Thanks Linda. That was an interesting test. My "shoulds" exceed the "shouldn'ts" but that will not sway me either way at this point. What bothers me the most about my back is the deformity and the fact that it IS getting worse. My father had idiopathic scoliosis and I watched his deformity get worse as he got older and I will not let myself look like that!

I am limited in some activities, like gardening, & swimming causes me to strain muscles on one side. I am really looking forward to getting my 2nd opinion because I trust that he will have much more knowledge and experience to help me make the right decision.

[loris]

Hello everyone,

I had a consultation with an orthopedic surgeon about 3 months ago. I am 49 years old, was diagnosed with thoracic scoliosis about the age of 12. I wore a Milwaukee brace (ugggh) for about 2 years then gave up. Since then my spine has continued to get worse, now at about 55 degrees. The orthopedic surgeon recommends surgery as he feels it will only get worse as I get older and it's best to do it now while I'm fairly young and in good health.

I am requesting a 2nd opinion from Dr Gupta in Sacramento because he is a scoliosis specialist. The surgeon that I saw initially is not - plus I am just not comfortable with him and it is very important to me to be comfortable and confident with a physician who is performing such a serious surgery.

My question for anyone is this: I do not have back pain. Once in a while my back gets sore from sitting or standing for long periods of time, but I do not have pain like many people comment here. That to me would be a good reason for the surgery. Has anyone had surgery when they had NO pain & the surgery was to 1) help straighten the spine, and 2) prevent it from getting worse.

Thanks!

I think it is very smart to get that second opinion. I am in the same situation as you are. I have a 55* thorasic curve, and the first surgeon I spoke to said just point blank I need to have this surgery and wanted to schedule it right away. When I got the second opinion I got a completly different answer. The new surgeon wants to make sure that the pain that I am experiencing may not be realted to an auto accident I had a couple of years ago and not that of the spine. He said I do need to have the surgery but I could wait up to as much as five years before I have to have it. So getting the second opinion can make all the difference in your decison.

[dolores a]

Hi,

Good luck at this stage of your decision making, you will get quite an education on this forum along with kind words of encouragement.

[lray]

I realized that maybe I should ask a question to those out there about their back pain. I do get back discomfort, sometimes requiring a heating pad. My muscles are sore to the touch quite often, particularly on the "hump" side. Also, the area where my bra stretches the most - on the hump area - gets quite sore some days. I had to buy a bra-back extender recently so my bra won't be so tight.

I am not in such bad pain that I can't move or require really strong pain meds, but I suppose I can safely say that I have some pain/discomfort. Do many of you who had surgery/are comtemplating surgery, suffer from severe pain, much more than what I described?

Thanks.

[lray]

I think it is very smart to get that second opinion. I am in the same situation as you are. I have a 55* thorasic curve, and the first surgeon I spoke to said just point blank I need to have this surgery and wanted to schedule it right away. When I got the second opinion I got a completly different answer. The new surgeon wants to make sure that the pain that I am experiencing may not be realted to an auto accident I had a couple of years ago and not that of the spine. He said I do need to have the surgery but I could wait up to as much as five years before I have to have it. So getting the second opinion can make all the difference in your decison.

Hi Lori,
Yes, it sounds like you and I have similar circumstances. The surgeon who I saw 3 months ago didn't want me to have the surgery right away, but he did say that I should have it. He wants me to wait 6 months, have another xray, and see if my curve progressed. Until that visit, I hadn't seen an orthopedist since my early teens and those xrays are long gone and I'm sure the orthopedist has long since retired. My spine back then did improve while wearing a brace for a couple years, but slowly the curve has progressed through the years, more so the past 10 years or so.

I have been in denial for a long time, very scared of surgery, and I hoped it would go away, I guess.

I have been reading comments on this forum for a couple of years now. It is so nice to see such support and encouragement here, as well as a lot of good information.