Thoracoplasty

[ScoliParent]

Thoracoplasty

My daughter who is 14 just had a posterior spinal fusion and thoracoplasty 9 days ago and is doing great. The only thing that bothers her is when she lays on her side, it's hard to breathe. Other than that she takes her pain medication every 4 hours. I see improvement every day.

[Cheryl M]

Thanks to all of you! I'm not sure what she's going to decide to do but I think she is leaning toward not having the thoracoplasty. Our surgery date is May 15th and we are praying that her recovery will be quick so she will not miss out on any of her summer.

Happy Easter and have a great week.

Cheryl

[mamakay]

Cheryl,
I am not sure if I should post my opinion on the thoraplasty subject that we all have opinions about but here goes.
My dtr's curve was 65 by the time we went to surgery. Out of 3 Dr's the rib hump was not their main concern it seemed.
From reading about people who had it, it seems mostly for cosmestic reasons?
Please anyone may correct me.
Also I understand the regrowth may not grow back in the direction preferred.
I think I would have leaned towards having it done on her but it was not really the main discussion at the office visits and they told me this required even another! specialist to monitor her lungs.
Today her back still has the hump but it is smaller and she does not seem embarrassed by it.
She did have the hip graft which I know some people have 2nd thoughts of having that done also.
I wish you luck in your decision as each child recovers differently. If your dtr has a prefference of what to do maybe that will help you.
It seems most everyone is happy in whatever decsion they made.
Again I hope I have not offended anyone and admit I don't know all the aspects of thoroplasty

[Cheryl M]

No offense taken whatsoever! You are probably right, it is largely cosmetic. We have given our daughter the facts about thoracoplasty and printed up many posts about them for her to read, some good, some bad. I'm pretty sure she is going to opt not to have it but we wanted it to be available for her just in case, especially since a 2nd surgery has to be done. So many people believe doing something for cosmetic reasons is not valid. I have mixed feelings. We have friends whose children have braces ontheir teeth and have to have surgery on their jaw because of an underbite. This is not a fun, risk free surgery either but somehow that's considered O.K. by most. I tend to think that if a child wants it, they should have it.

Have any of you had your ribs grow back incorrectly that made the situation worse? I know I read one a few post back whose ribs grew back the same way.

Thanks so much.

Cheryl

[KRIS ATKINSON]

My thoughts on my daughter's thoracoplasty: Her surgery was July 18, 2005 at Shriners Hospital, Greenville, SC. We included her emotional stability in the future as an adult in our decision, cosmetically. Would she "hide" due to her rib hump and therefore be emotionally affected? She was also unable to see the visual effects of her hump, which was obvious from basically top to waist, by the time surgery arrived. She complained to me at one time that she couldn't understand why she couldn't put her shoulder back to sit in a chair and that it was uncomfortable to always have her shoulder so far forward. Between the possibility of her being "shy" due to the obvious hump as an adult and the recent discomfort from her increased hump, we mutually decided to do thoracoplasty. She still has a hump, so you may/may not be able to decrease it enough for cosmetic satisfaction, anyway. I see my daughter's hump now and am so thankful we decided on thoracoplasty. To think how much of a hump she would have now if we hadn't done the thoracoplasty. Kris

[ProudParents]

With the new instrumentation and derotation techniques in use today, studies have shown that there is only a slightly better hump reduction when a thoracoplasty is done with the initial fusion. By far, the primary reason for doing a thoracoplasty is to obtain a source for graft material. Another benefit is the increased flexibility of the rib cage that results in less stress on the instrumentation. A distant third reason is for a slightly greater derotation which gives cosmetic benefits. That is why you will find that surgeons who prefer to use allograft or hip bone for graft material will rarely do a thoracoplasty with initial surgery, unless specifically requested. On the other hand, surgeons, who prefer not to use allograft or harvest bone from the hip, see the ribs as an excellent source for autograft, hence the recommended thoracoplasty. If a thoracoplasty is done after the initial surgery then it is usually for cosmetic reasons.

[Carmell]

ProudParents,

I agree with your comments for patients who have relatively flexible spines. Do you know if this is also the case for patients who have very rigid (even previously fused (no instrumentation)) spines? I would imagine the thoracoplasty would be cosmetic, technically, but it would also improve a ribcage function in a patient with a very rigid spine. Maybe? Any insight would be appreciated.

[ProudParents]

Sorry, Carmell, I do not know the answer to your question.

Mark

[KRIS ATKINSON]

Hey, I reread my post and noticed I sound like my daughter couldn't see her hump because it wasn't obvious. The reason she couldn't see it was it was her back, and she couldn't see her back. Just wanted to clear that up. When the doctor, my husband, and I realized how much her hump had increased as her curvature of her spine had increased, and that she couldn't see it, we realized we had to pretty much make the emotional and physical decision for her regarding her future well-being. She didn't really care, except when she thought of being able to possibly sit in chairs and lay in bed easier, without feeling her shoulder constantly pushed so far forward. I wish you all the best and with God's guidance in making your decisions regarding your children. I am saying it this way partly for those who read these forums and may have similar difficulties as well as Cheryl M. God bless all of you out there with surgery decisions. Kris

[jc3]

I don't get on this board to much anymore but took a peek on here and thought i'd reply to this post even though i'm not sure how old the post is. My daughter had surgery (november was her 1 year anniversary) and thoracoplasty done at the same time. She did not have any extra pain from it. The dr. said 2 weeks after surgery she may start complaining about her ribs and she never did. Her rib hump was quite severe and looks so much better now, but it is not 100 percent perfect, but it is much better.
Good luck
Jennifer

[mit_mol]

Thoracoplasty

Hello everybody.

I'm from Germany (excuse my non-perfect english) and trying to get a thoracoplasty for about 7 years, now.
Without success. All german surgeons I go up to, always tell me that there's no adequate reason. But in my opinion there is. It's impossible to continue my living without getting operated.
But first I really would like to make an attempt abroad.

Do someone of you know surgeons, who might be willing to come into contact with me?

I'm dependent on your information. I hope you can help. And don't mind to...