Hi everyone,
My son, Alexander had a "routine" post-op appointment last Thursday. His surgery was 1 1/2 years ago. The x-ray looked "great" and there was little that was recommended, despite my asking, for his posture that still isn't as great looking as the x-ray. After the surgeon left the room (after we waited for an hour to see him), the nurse suggested we could "play around" with orthotics from the drugstore and see if they helped. The surgeon did say there might be a leg length discrepancy but that it would take too many x-rays to figure it out, especially because Alexander really feels great and can control his posture when he thinks about it.
The surgeon also mentioned that Alexander was a risser 4-5 according to the growth plates in his hip bones. He seemed to be saying that Alexander, who is only 13.5 years old, may not grow much more. He is only 5' 1/4" which is very short, even for my short family. My dad had a big growth spurt at 16 and my husband is 5'7". I am only 5'1" and my younger son is even tinier for his age than Alexander ever was. Don't most boys, even post-fusion, continue to grow until possibly their early 20's? I can't imagine Alexander won't grow at least several more inches. He's already in puberty, even shaving about 1x/week but still...
Does anyone know about any of this? Can any of you offer information or comments about growth, esp. post-fusion?
Thanks in advance for any advice, information or support.
My son, Alexander had a "routine" post-op appointment last Thursday. His surgery was 1 1/2 years ago. The x-ray looked "great" and there was little that was recommended, despite my asking, for his posture that still isn't as great looking as the x-ray. After the surgeon left the room (after we waited for an hour to see him), the nurse suggested we could "play around" with orthotics from the drugstore and see if they helped. The surgeon did say there might be a leg length discrepancy but that it would take too many x-rays to figure it out, especially because Alexander really feels great and can control his posture when he thinks about it.
The surgeon also mentioned that Alexander was a risser 4-5 according to the growth plates in his hip bones. He seemed to be saying that Alexander, who is only 13.5 years old, may not grow much more. He is only 5' 1/4" which is very short, even for my short family. My dad had a big growth spurt at 16 and my husband is 5'7". I am only 5'1" and my younger son is even tinier for his age than Alexander ever was. Don't most boys, even post-fusion, continue to grow until possibly their early 20's? I can't imagine Alexander won't grow at least several more inches. He's already in puberty, even shaving about 1x/week but still...
Does anyone know about any of this? Can any of you offer information or comments about growth, esp. post-fusion?
Thanks in advance for any advice, information or support.
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