Ageing w/scoliosis

[macky]

Linda that was just written on a post by Christophe in this forum under the thread of Dr Woggan--The clear institute.
That was so nice of you to go to that trouble of looking for me. I am not really computor savvy and to have you do that to help I think really was just lovely.

There I was nearly pushing up daisies too!! Because at nearly 55, 14 years makes a lot of difference (hahaha)

Thankyou for your time and effort.
Bless you
Macky

[jsully]

Surgery Or No Surgery????

lostfan,
My curve sounds very similar to yours, (65 degree thoracic), compensatory lumbar curve. Also, I have 2 heriated discs C5-6 & L4-5. I have always been told I would need surgery and put it off many years (I'm 32). I finally felt settled in my life that I had done everything I needed to 1st (husband,school,job,family) and that I was ready. I sought professional advice again. I saw a DR who is a member of the Scoliosis Research Society. He says I should put it off as long as possible! I always thought better to get it done while I'm younger. I have pain, curve progression and deformity. The DR thinks I should try PT and injections. I've tried PT before and stengthening exercises do help pain. I too however, worry about progression. DR said not to worry if progression is 1 degree a year or so. However, if I increase MANY degrees over a years time, then surgery is needed. Not sure if this is the best advice and I have to trust someone. I have to believe that a DR would not say I did not need surgery when I did.
I can understand why a DR would say I did need surgery when I did not (financial gain?).
Anyway the DR said he told me what he "would tell his sister". Just thought I'd share that with you. Good luck with your decision.
Jan

[lostfan]

Why??

Hi Jan
Did your Dr. say why you should wait? And for how long....I know in the 50's you risk the chance of bone loss so I would think it's better to have surgery before then if possible. It seems on average that people start having trouble post op about 15 - 20 years out from what I've read here. Of course, some people go much longer as we're all different but a lot of people are having revision surgery.

Sometimes I think it would be better to wait for awhile until I'm in my mid 40's or so. I'll be 38 in a few days.

I went to a surgeon 10 years ago w/a 55 curve and he said surgery then and is still saying it today. He has offered no other resolution...no PT or anything. Just says "surgery". I do have a 2nd opinion in a few weeks and am looking forward to a new Dr. and what he might have to say.

Are you waiting on surgery then? Or still deciding?

[jsully]

My 1st 2 surgeons said surgery also with no mention of anything else. My curve 10 years ago was also 55 degrees. I'm confused but I'm going to trust that he knows best being that he is a member of SRS.
Jan

[macky]

Revision Surgery as far as I understand is done for the people who had harrington rods put in. Now, surgery has advanced so much and has changed to such an extent that Revision surgery for people having their operations done now, I would think would be a thing of the past.

The way surgeons operated on myself for instance back in 1966 is primitive in comparison to the way specialists are operating today. I dont think it is a good thing for people to be confused and think that revision surgery is always the done thing even when they have their operations now.

Of course I cant see what will happen to those patients in 20years time but I would think it would be no where near what I and others are going through. Thank goodness for their sakes. Also not every patient back then needs Revison surgery now either.

Macky

[Cakedec]

I would have the surgery at your age and not wait

Dear Jsully,

It seems very strange to me that the dr. did not recommend surgery; probably because your curve is not progressing. However, if you already have herniated disks, the scoliosis is causing pain and the is going to cause disability in motion and activities for you eventually. The scoliosis curves cause uneven stress on your muscles, vertebrae, and disks which causes the pain and herniation.

I went for years with pain and problems in my neck and now, only 8 weeks after surgery (T5-L5), I can feel the stress relief in my neck. It no longer feels tight and strained like before because the muscles are not being pulled so unequally. I also went through my young adult years with a 65 degree S curve. I had pain that came and went. When I was your age, a scoliosis surgeon also told me that I was not yet a candidate for surgery. So it wasn't until another 15 years that I went to another surgeon for an opinion. By that time, my curves had progressed to the 70's, I could barely walk and was disabled from working from the pain. The dr. couldn't believe that I had not been offered surgery years earlier. When I finally had posterior surgery this year, they were only able to get 30 degrees of correction out of each curve, which still leaves my curves in the 40's. If I'd known what I'd know now, I would have searched out another dr. and had my surgery in my 30's instead of at age 47. I would have gotten a better correction and easier recovery.

My recommendation to you is to seek out another or maybe a couple more scoliosis specialists and get their opinions. Ask them what the advantages are of having the surgery now versus waiting. Definitely keep getting your curve progression checked every couple years even if they won't do surgery. As you get into your 40's or 50's, your bones and muscles soften and weaken and progression often starts or speeds up then. But there are people on here on this forum who have surgery whose curves are only in the 40's and 50's, so I don't know what your dr. is waiting for!!!

Good luck in your search and let us know how things go.

Deb

[LindaRacine]

Revision Surgery as far as I understand is done for the people who had harrington rods put in. Now, surgery has advanced so much and has changed to such an extent that Revision surgery for people having their operations done now, I would think would be a thing of the past.

Hi...

While I don't think there's an official definition of the term, most surgeons use it to refer to any time they need to reoperate to make a change to the fusion. That could be anything from adding on a fusion level to remodeling the spine to change the curves.

--Linda

[sweetness514]

Revision surgery

I've already had two, and those were both done less than 8 years after my first, so it can happen with people like me who don't have Harington rods, as I have known a lot in real life and have read about on this site. For me it is a case of failure of my first fusion and also problems with hardware that causes pain that irritates my nerves.

There really can't be a generalization on wether people have revision or problems as far as how many years down the line, what kind of rods they have or if they will have any type of problems. I don't think I could say the percentage b/c many who have problems don't post on forums(that I know) and many who don't have problems don't post as well.

To get back to surgeons and wether they decide for a person to have surgery or not, I think a good opinion is to have an open mind about alternative treatments, and also surgery if the patient has tried everything and is still in some amount of pain and their curve is either progressing and/or a large one.

As for herniated disks I had some before surgery and the surgery has helped alleviate the pain for some but other pinched nerves in my neck have appeared b/c of the pressure of the fusion, so once again it can help or not depending on what is the cause.

[lberg]

kkong,

I read in an earlier post that you were considering surgery...have you come up with a decision yet? How bad is your deformity...or your moms...can you still pretty much look normal w/clothing?

I am married x10 years and my husband says he doesn't care about the deformity. I worry about it much much more than he does. I am 37 almost 38 and I just have occasional pain mostly in my lower back but nothing I can't live with. I have 62 degrees at T7-L2, about 31 degrees T1-L2 and 25 degrees lower lumbar.

It seems from reading on this site too that a lot of people wait until they are in their 40's or 50's for surgery so maybe I should stop worrying and see what happens over the next 5 years or so and then look at the possibility again. I guess when you have a really bad curve, to even be corrected to say a 50 degree curve would be OK. I started out at 50 when mine was first noticed and I had no problems at all. You have to wonder too though as we age how much of the pain in related to the scoliosis and how much is somthing we would get w or w/o the curves?

So much to think about....it's never an easy answer.

Be careful, the same thing that causes us to wrinkle in our 40's is the same thing that attacks our disks and our bones -ageing, only it it is much worse when you have spent your life on a unbalanced frame. Your wear and tear is much more. I am 43 and can only walk 2-3 hours a day now as my disks are degerating from the stress from the curve. You see us 40-50's talking about surgery now because our lives have been ruined from the pain and we can no longer function normally. I have tried to stay in shape because that is the only good advice out there, but sadly you can't stop getting old. You have a better chance of healing in your 30's that is why you should think about it. I am looking into spinal decompression for my problem. Good Luck!

[Stormybean]

Scoliosis at 75

It does progress, at least, mine has. I developed scoli early, after polio, they thought, but my daughter and two granddaughters also had it. My curves were never measured, but it's impossible to conceal now and likely too late for surgery. My granddaughter had successful surgery at 20 and she is fine. My daughter plans to have surgery and she is 49. My problem now is breathing and I am seeking information on that.

[CHRIS WBS]

Thank you for your comment. It would be great if we could hear from more seniors with untreated scoliosis on how well they are doing. It might help to sway those of us who may be on the fence about this surgery before we reach the point when surgery is no longer a viable alternative. I sincerely hope you can find a solution for your breathing difficulty.

Chris

[Karen Ocker]

Stormybean,
I sent you a private message. Yes, they do scoliosis corrections over age 70.
There are certain docs with this experience.

[CHRIS WBS]

For those of you like me who may be indecisive about surgery or who are a few months post-surgery struggling with pain and questioning if you made the right decision, thought I’d share the following with you.

A co-worker of mine was in Detroit over the weekend attending her 50th high school reunion. She showed me a photo of herself taken with one of her former classmates who was at the reunion. This woman is 68 and in a wheelchair. Her scoliosis has progressed to curves exceeding 100 degrees and her heart and lungs are being compressed. She is no longer a candidate for surgery. A surgeon told her if she had come in five years earlier, she might still have been able to be treated. My co-worker told her about me and my indecision about surgery, and she told her to tell me to not wait any longer, just do it.

Chris

[Singer]

Chris, I sent you a PM.

[BETall]

It does progress, at least, mine has. I developed scoli early, after polio, they thought, but my daughter and two granddaughters also had it. My curves were never measured, but it's impossible to conceal now and likely too late for surgery. My granddaughter had successful surgery at 20 and she is fine. My daughter plans to have surgery and she is 49. My problem now is breathing and I am seeking information on that.

I had also polio and a 85o left thoracic scoliosis . I would like to send you information about increasing your vital capacity and your mobility in your rib cage. Please send me a private message. It is never too late to improve your quality of life .
Also check: www.scoliosistreatment-schroth.com