Connecticut-area

[jillp]

Who is the best "bracing" doctor and/or hopsital for a very young (4 yrs old) pediatric scoliosis case with a moderate curve in the CT area?

[leahdragonfly]

Hi Jillp,

So sorry to hear about your dd's recent diagnosis. I remember the feelings of shock and utter despair well when my dd was first diagnosed at her 6th birthday with a 28 degree curve. I think I cried everyday for a month, partly because I had suffered through two years of bracing myself as a teenager for scoliosis.

For me the best way to move beyond shock and despair was to gain knowledge. You are making a fantastic choice by taking her to see Dr Betz and Janet Cerrone at Shriners Philly. This wonderful team manage my dd's treatment even though we live in Oregon. I know others have had good experiences with Boston Children's hospital (Dr Hresko), so maybe that's an option for you for a second opinion. I wanted to echo what the others recommended above about the MRI. Any good pediatric scoliosis specialist should be requiring this. It is important to rule out any undetected causes of the scoliosis, and these potential conditions can not be seen on x-ray. My dd had her MRI at age 6 and tolerated it very well with mild oral sedation. Probably a 4 y/o would need IV sedation given by a pediatric anesthesiologist, as Maria mentioned. We were told by Dr Betz that an open MRI may not provide adequate images, so unfortunately that may not be an option.

Have you looked at the Scoliosis Research Society website? It can be found at www.srs.org and has a lot of info. You can also search for a scoliosis specialist who specializes in Juvenile Scoliosis, then call and find out how many young pediatric pt's they see. Again, you do not want to be seen by someone who mostly treats adolescent scoliosis.

I think you will learn a lot at your appt in Philly. My personal belief is that they are they best, and they offer more cutting edge treatments than some other hospitals. They see the whole child and family, not just the spine on the x-ray. Please let us know how things are going. We are here for you.

[mariaf]

Hi Jill,

Probably every ortho has patients that are in braces, so in effect I guess they could all be considered "bracing doctors" (assuming when you said "bracing doctor" you meant someone who would be willing to brace your daughter).

At 4 years old with a 25 degree curve you should have no trouble finding a doctor to brace her - in fact that might be what a lot of them would suggest at this point, I don't know.

With that said, a few names come to mind, depending on how far you wish to travel.

Dr. Vitale in NYC is a relatively short drive for you and has a particular interest in juvenile and infantile cases. He's one of the top guys in the field from everything I have heard (I've spoken to a few parents of his patients) and he has a great reputation.

Dr. Betz at Shriners in Philadelphia (who treats my son) is also considered by just about everyone to be one of the top orthos in the country. IMHO, there's nobody better (but then of course I'm probably biased because of the incredible care my son has received over the past five years!)

Drs. Emans and Hresko at Boston Children's are also considered among the very best in the country.

All of the above doctors regularly see infantile and juvenile cases, not just adolescents - and that's important.

You are fortunate in that you are within a few hours' drive from these (and I'm sure many other) very, very good doctors. Sometimes it is best to meet with 2 or 3 and see which one(s) you "click" with - someone who thinks like you do in terms of treatment, etc.

Best of luck to you and please keep us posted.

[mariaf]

Gayle,

I must have been working on my response the same time as you - and how funny that we both mentioned some of the same docs!

Jill,

I also want to mention that while Gayle is correct that a lot of open MRIs do not provide adequate images (probably most do not), I know somebody who went to a brand new state-of-the-art facility on Long Island and sent the MRI to Shriners and it WAS acceptable. Feel free to e-mail me if you like and I'll try to get the information for you.

I also could not agree more with what Gayle said that Dr. Betz and the team in Philly see the WHOLE child, not just the spine on an x-ray, meaning they want what is best for the child medically, but also think - like a parent would - in terms of allowing the child to have the most normal, happy childhood possible.

Another important thing is that they treat every single case individually - based on that child (and also take the parents' wishes into consideration) - there are no "one size fits all" treatments there.

[Hannamom]

Jillp


Dr. Vitale's partner is Dr. David Roye. He did my daughters surgery last month. Both doctors are out of Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, part of Columbia in NYC. Dr. Roye is chief of pediatric orthopedics. He corrected my daughters kyphosis. He sees patients in Greenwich CT on every other Thursday and also in the city. I can't say enough good things about Dr. Roye. He has dedicated his life to treating children.