My son's scoliosis

[saldawop]

My son is 17 years old .He is disabled.he suffers from Blepharo Phimosis Ptosis Epicanthus Inversus(which sounds worse than it is).He also has cerebral atrophy.
Many years ago he was all set to fitted for a brace.We were in the room ready to go when the top doctor came in and said that it wasnt necessary at that time.
He went for his annual checkup last week.My ex wife took him so this is what she told me when I went to pick up my son on Friday.

The Dr told her that he has a 57 degree curvature.He said that if nothing is done he will end up unable to sit upright,unable to walk.
There is an operation,but due to him having an operation many years ago, he has a piece of metal wire behind the bridge of his nose.This rules out an MRI, so would mean they would have to go in blind.
That could increase the risk of paralysis(apparently once they go in, its not just a case of saying it looks too risky,and closing him back up?)

Also even if it was a success, we were told that the recovery is hard work for a "normal" kid let alone like my son.

We have no idea where to go from here...what we should be asking?What other tests are available?What options we have?

We are in the UK, and treatment is on NHS

[tonibunny]

Hi,

I'd get a second opinion about the MRI if I were you. Plenty of us have metal implants in our spines and have had MRI scans safely with no problems. I've had three done with both titanium and stainless steel rods.

Some people get told that you definitely can't have an MRI with metalwork, that the metal will heat up or even get pulled right out of your body by the force of the magnets, but that is clearly not the case!