30 Year Old Male With kyphosis

[steinbeck68]

Hi Everyone,

I don't know if I am posting this in the right space or not, but I had a few questions. I am now 30 years old, I was diagnosed with kyphosis when i was 15, my family was pretty poor, so nothing was done about it, lucky me! I had the degree of curvature measured when I joined the Army about 10 years ago, I don't recall what the degree was (70-80), but I had to get a waiver from a medical board to join, so it had to be pretty bad.

Anyway, here are my questions. I am a better financial position now then I was 15 years ago, so does anybody know what kind of options I have for treatment? I have done a bit of research, and I know you can get surgery, but I didn't know if my age would be prohibitive. Also, I live in Southern California, does anyone know a Doctor that does this type of surgery in this area. Also, I seem to remember my curvature being between 70 and 80 (I think), what kind of post surgery improvement could one expect, I've heard that its about a 50% improvement.

If anyone has any information, It would be greatly appreciated.


Thank you

[LindaRacine]

Hi...

Kyphosis is measured differently than scoliosis, so I'm not sure what sort of improvement is normal. Normal kyphosis is usually 20-50 degrees, if that helps you figure things out.

You can find a list of specialists here:

http://www.srs.org/directory/directory.asp

You don't say where you are in Southern California, but if you're anywhere near La Jolla, I've heard only great things about Behrooz Akbarnia.

Regards,
Linda

[Mary Lou]

Hi,

My 14 y.o. daughter had surgery to correct her Kyphosis last year. Before surgery her Kyphosis was about 72* and after surgery it measured about 33*.

Mary Lou

[nikyergen]

Hi,
My almost 17 yo daughter had kyphosis surgery in March of this year. She had an 88 degree curve, was fused from T2-L2 and has Harrington rods. Her back is now at 38 degrees, which is considered normal range. She is thrilled and is virtually pain free, until she does something stupid like ride the 4 wheelers when no one is paying attention. Remember a 50% improvement is incredible. Our doctor was hoping for at least 50% correction, but got way more than that. I was more scared than she was. But, then I think that is partly because I am mom. She went in with confidence and putting her entire surgery and surgical team in God's hands.

You will here pro's and con's of the success of Kyphosis surgery. You just have to weigh them out. To our daughter there was no weighing it out. She is an athlete and had a lot of pain. She didn't want to give up her sports for her pain, so she chose surgery. She grew 2 1/2 inches, which is great since she plays a post position in Basketball. And, the best part, she has way less pain. She says the pain she has now is from all of her muscles adjusting to being pulled the directions they are supposed to go and that gets better all the time. It hasn't slowed her down at all. Not everyone will experience good recoveries and not everyone will experience bad recoveries. Just remember each case is different. It will depend on you as an individual and what you are willing to do to help yourself.

[steinbeck68]

Fusion

Thanks for the info, When someone is fused from T2-L2, how does that effect their flexability? Is hard to pick things up or bend?

Rick

[nikyergen]

Rick
Being fused from T2-L2 means you have to pick things up the way you are supposed to. You have to squat and lift with your legs, instead of bending over and lifting with your back. There isn't anything Crystal can't pick up as long as it is within her 20 lb weight limit. Hopefully that restriction will increase or be lifted completely the end of October.

Nikki

[Mary Lou]

Jamie is fused from T3-L2 and her flexibility is mostly limited because of her tight hamstrings. When she does her stretches, they improve and so does her flexibility. However, like Nikki said, she does need to squat to pick things up off of the floor. This hasn't been a problem since for the first three months after surgery, she wasn't allowed to bend, twist or turn, so it became routine for her to squat. I don't think she misses bending over like she use to do.

Mary Lou