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  • New here, 2 month old with possible scoliosis

    I have been reading all the great info on these pages the last two weeks.

    I had noticed my 2 month old son had a slight curve to him when I would pick him up. Looking at his back you could tell it didnt appear straight. I must have noticed this after his 1 month appt, as his dr, did not.

    It didnt occur to me what this might be until last week. THen I thought, it could be scoliosis. I have it, although it is very minute. You can see it in an x-ray but not from just looking at me or my back.

    So thats how I found this site. And then for his 2 month appt, which was last firday 11/10, the dr noticed ie before I mentioned it. And she did the right thing and got us an appt with the orthopedic dr. We were lucky and got an appt that day.


    THey did an x-ray and you can see the cuve in his spine pretty good. Of course at the time the dr came in my little guy decided he wanted to have a nice crying fit. I cant blame him though, he had his shots that day too and probably didnt feel good.

    The Dr, said there was not sign in the x-ray to see why his back was curved. ALl his vertabra were shaped correctly. His curve seems to start right around at his rib cage area. THe dr said it was hard to tell if it rotated too. He said he would schedule us an MRI at vanderbilt childrens hospital, but he knew they were back logged pretty good right now.

    He said the mri would be to check to see if there were any underlying causes for his back to curve. He mentioned a few things, and over the crying I heard something about cysts on the spine??? My wife heard more.

    He did mention scoliosis, but I gathered from what I could hear, that he wanted to see what the mri showed us as well. I did see him write down infant scoliosis on his paper work though.


    He didnt mention anything about rvad or cobb angle #s. Is this something he will be able to determine just from the x-ray? Maybe he is just waiting on the mri before he officially declares its scoliosis?

    My other question is, I read about like 80-90% of infants grow out of this. But I have not found story so far on the internet that has happened to. Do any of you have experience with the kids who grew out if it?

    If he needs a cast or brace, I wonder if they do that sort of thing in nashville, or will we need to find a childrens hospital close by?

    Sorry this is so long. I just felt I wanted to talk about it some, and I feel better already. Just a hard thing to do to know something is wrong with your little angel.

    Oh, BTW, just heard back that our MRI is scheduled for Jan 23rd. Guess they are backed up pretty good.


    Jason

  • #2
    Welcome Jason and family.

    First, take this all one step at a time. There is a lot to absorb. Your research will find many extremes. It's very likely your little one will fit somewhere inbetween the very extreme examples on the internet.

    It sounds like your doc has the right plan, initially, for your little one. He needs an MRI to rule out things that could cause a curve of the spine including problems with the spinal cord itself. An MRI at 4 months should show them what they need to know. My suggestion to you is to find a pediatric neuroSURGEON to read the actual scan, not just the radiologist's report. This way you will know they didn't miss anything that may be subtle on the scan.

    Next, once the MRI shows he has no problems with his spinal cord or other soft tissues, you'll want to get an evaluation by a pediatric orthopedist who has treated many infants with scoliosis. If you haven't already, you should read the information on the Yahoo group "infantile_scoliosis". There is an email list too where you can post an introduction. There are many families there in various stages of treatment for infantile scoliosis.

    Does your little guy have any other medical condition that would complicate scoliosis treatment? This would be one of the first questions a ped. ortho. would ask.
    Carmell
    mom to Kara, idiopathic scoliosis, Blake 19, GERD and Braydon 14, VACTERL, GERD, DGE, VEPTR #137, thoracic insufficiency, rib anomalies, congenital scoliosis, missing coccyx, fatty filum/TC, anal stenosis, horseshoe kidney, dbl ureter in left kidney, ureterocele, kidney reflux, neurogenic bladder, bilateral hip dysplasia, right leg/foot dyplasia, tibial torsion, clubfoot with 8 toes, pes cavus, single umblilical artery, etc. http://carmellb-ivil.tripod.com/myfamily/

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    • #3
      Thanks Carmell,

      No, he doesnt have any medical problems at all. Not evn a runny nose

      The orthopedist is an pediatric orthopedist. I forgot to mention it. According to the info I read on him, he has experience in scoliosis. I need to ask him if he has any experience with ones this age though.

      He did check his hips, somehow. Kind of spread his legs apart, and said he seemed to be perfectly semetrical in that area, and his hips ok? Not sure what all that meant though.


      To ask for a pediatric nerosurgeon to look at his mri, how would I go about doing that?

      Thanks,


      Jason

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      • #4
        Hi again, Jason,

        Having "scoliosis experience" doesn't mean they have experience treating infants.

        The doc checks the hips to make sure there are no socket problems, which can be common in many babies, even ones without scoliosis. If he had a hip problem, the doc would look closer into other potential bone problems with your son. Good job - no hip issues.

        Do you have a children's hospital near you? You can call a pediatric neurosurgeon's office and explain to them that your infant has scoliosis, and the orthopod is recommending an MRI and would someone in the office be available to read the scan. Your ortho may be able to suggest something as well.

        Good luck to you.
        Carmell
        mom to Kara, idiopathic scoliosis, Blake 19, GERD and Braydon 14, VACTERL, GERD, DGE, VEPTR #137, thoracic insufficiency, rib anomalies, congenital scoliosis, missing coccyx, fatty filum/TC, anal stenosis, horseshoe kidney, dbl ureter in left kidney, ureterocele, kidney reflux, neurogenic bladder, bilateral hip dysplasia, right leg/foot dyplasia, tibial torsion, clubfoot with 8 toes, pes cavus, single umblilical artery, etc. http://carmellb-ivil.tripod.com/myfamily/

        Comment


        • #5
          Carmell,

          thanks again for your info.

          THe hospital he is scheduled to go to is a childrens hospital. It is http://www.vanderbiltchildrens.com/

          So I will make sure a pediatric neurosurgeon looks at his scans.

          My wife is worried about having to wait until jan 23rd to get the mri done. She mentioend something about looking for another childrens hospital, but I imagine they all have the same wait period. I try to tell her not to worrow until you have something to worry about, but I know thats hard to do.


          Jason

          Comment


          • #6
            Hi Jason,

            Tell your wife that unless there are obvious symptoms that are troubling your little man, waiting until January is probably a good thing. You want his body to be mature enough that they can actually SEE what parts they need to see. If the MRI is done too soon, the chances of a false negative are high. January will be a good time for them to see what they need to see.

            Symptoms are hard to determine in infants, since they have no way of communicating other than crying. If he cries whenever you lift his legs for a diaper change, or when you sit him upright to burp after feedings... anytime his legs are bent 90 degrees or more - if he cries, that could be a symptom of a tethered spinal cord. If he dribbles rather than has a full stream when he urinates, or if he is constipated, these are also potential symptoms.

            Take this all one step at a time. There is not much anyone will do for him right now. As long as he seems pain free and is growing, he's doing just fine. You don't want to rush into anything. I promise. Let us know how the MRI goes in January. Oh, make sure they are going to do a full spine MRI, not just a lumbar scan.

            Take care.
            Carmell
            mom to Kara, idiopathic scoliosis, Blake 19, GERD and Braydon 14, VACTERL, GERD, DGE, VEPTR #137, thoracic insufficiency, rib anomalies, congenital scoliosis, missing coccyx, fatty filum/TC, anal stenosis, horseshoe kidney, dbl ureter in left kidney, ureterocele, kidney reflux, neurogenic bladder, bilateral hip dysplasia, right leg/foot dyplasia, tibial torsion, clubfoot with 8 toes, pes cavus, single umblilical artery, etc. http://carmellb-ivil.tripod.com/myfamily/

            Comment


            • #7
              Well, what a difference a day makes.

              My wife had called our pediatrician to ask her about having to wait until Jan, and she called and get some strings pulled and he will be seen the 2nd week in Dec! I really like her BTW. I wish she was my dr.

              I hope that is not too early like you mentioned. I know my wife feels better.

              And I actually feel better after reading your post as I know he isnt in any pain during his diaper change or when we bend him at his legs to burp him. And he definitly has a full powered stream when he pees. Ask my wife. (I always use the cloth diaper to cover up the minautre cannon )

              So again, thank you for the info. And I will write back in here when we get his results on Dec 8.


              Jason

              Comment


              • #8
                Sorry I was late in updating you guys.

                The mri showed nothing wrong with our little man. I even got to keep the cd that all the images and the viewing software is on. How many parents have pictures of there baby's brain and insides huh???

                Our next appt will be with the orthopedic again in mid jan. to take another x-ray to see how he is doing. He said then we will decide if we will do a brace or casting. And if he is getting straighter then nothing.

                He did measure his curve and it was 20 degrees. So pretty small. The mri was a lot less curved then the x-ray. The dr said the mri is more accurate since he was under, then the x-ray when his muscles could have been tense and pulling him in a bigger curve.

                So next update will be next month. I personally think he looks straighter every day.


                Jason

                Comment


                • #9
                  Hello,
                  It sounds to me like your son might have scoliosis. I have it and I have three curves in the back, the worst being at 90 degrees. Scoliosis tends to effect women more than it does men, but I have seen it occur in men. You said that you have scoliosis, but it is very minute. What can happen with idiopathic scoliosis, which is what you have, is it will run in families. My great grandmother had it and she passed it on to my grandmother. My grandmother passed it on to her and then my mother passed it on to me. With each generation, the scoliosis of the next person after, was worse than the person before that. It sounds to me like that is what is happening here, unfortunately. I wish you the best of luck with finding the appropriate treatment method for your son.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Thanks for the update Jason. I hope all is well at your place. Good luck with your meeting in a couple weeks with the ortho. Let us know what they decide.
                    Carmell
                    mom to Kara, idiopathic scoliosis, Blake 19, GERD and Braydon 14, VACTERL, GERD, DGE, VEPTR #137, thoracic insufficiency, rib anomalies, congenital scoliosis, missing coccyx, fatty filum/TC, anal stenosis, horseshoe kidney, dbl ureter in left kidney, ureterocele, kidney reflux, neurogenic bladder, bilateral hip dysplasia, right leg/foot dyplasia, tibial torsion, clubfoot with 8 toes, pes cavus, single umblilical artery, etc. http://carmellb-ivil.tripod.com/myfamily/

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by jwa95ta
                      Sorry I was late in updating you guys.

                      The mri showed nothing wrong with our little man. I even got to keep the cd that all the images and the viewing software is on. How many parents have pictures of there baby's brain and insides huh???

                      Haha, we do...

                      Good luck with the appointment this month! Glad the MRI showed no problems
                      Connie - Mom to Billy 5
                      (CRS/VACTERLS incl. tethered cord, IA, single kidney, hemisacrum, levoscoliosis with hemivertebrae (fusion T11 to S2/hips 8/06), extra left rib, hypospadius, hypoplastic left leg w/clubfoot and 4.5cm length discrepancy,GI issues) conni60640@aol.com, http://members.tripod.com/conni60640-ivil/
                      TC support group http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/LMC-TCS/
                      Congenital scoliosis support group - http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group...liosisSupport/

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        OK, yet another very late update.

                        He went back to the orthopedic to have an x-ray. He is now straight as a board!! I could tell he seemed straighter, but didnt want to make any judegements.

                        It just seemed once he was able to start holding his head up while on his belly, things got better.


                        Hope everyone here, has good luck with their kids as well. I know it was a blessing Jesse, worked out on his own.

                        If I get a chacne to, I will try to post a before and after pic we took with our camera from the x-rays.

                        Jason

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