Hi, my 14 yr old daughter was just diagnosed with scoliosis.I have so many questions about this awful disease. I think it's very misunderstood, at least I misunderstood it. My pediatrition told us she had "mild" scoliosis 3 years ago. We went for our scoli check every 6 months. We were always told "mild", don't worry about it-so we didn't!Last summer 2009 we noticed our daughter standing crooked. We kept telling her to stand up straight. She really couldn't. That was Aug. At her 13 year checkup in Sept. I asked the pediatrition about the scoliosis. She had her bend over, took a look , and told us, "Mild again-see you in 6 months." In April 2010 the pediatrition finally decided to check her scoli with an x-ray. The x-ray tech had my daughter stand with her feet together, head straight, shoulders and hips as even as she could get them, told my daughter to not move, and took the x-ray. The reason I'm telling you this is because I have a question pertaining to the way a child stands for these x-rays. We were then sent to an orthopedic doctor at my local doctor's office. He said my daughter had "significant" scoliosis- an S curve of 31 and 33.He was sending her to a large, well-known hospital to have her seen by an orthpdic specialist/surgeon to get fitted for a brace that she would need to wear for the next year or two. When we got to the hopital three weeks later, this new orthopedic specialist wanted his own x-rays done.The x-ray tech at this hospital never touched my daughter or put her in any position for the x-ray. I said,"Shouldn't she be standing up straight?" and he then said to my daughter,"Stand up straight".He was pre-occupied with teaching a new tech how to run the machines, as this is a teaching hospital.Now at the time I didn't think much about this. But I've given it alot of thought recently. Back to that day at the hospital...after the x-ray we went back to see the doctor. He said my daughter didn't need a brace, she needed surgery.He said she had an S curve 41 and 48 (Risser 1 No period yet).My daughter and I just burst into tears. Within three weeks we went from "mild" to "significant" to "severe" and in need of surgery!Why was there such a large difference in the reading of the x-rays?Was it the way my daughter was standing for each x-ray?I asked if we could try the brace for a while and see what would happen. He said "I won't torture her in the brace for 2 years only to end up performing the surgery anyway". But he did say he would try the Boston brace for three months and then take another x-ray and talk to us again about whether or not to proceed with bracing at that point.He also looked right at her and said," There is a possible chance this will work,but not a probable chance."He also said she only has a 20 percent chance of avoiding the surgery.I was all for the 20 percent chance. We both cried the whole 2 hour drive home from the hospital that day!I felt like I was hit with a ton of bricks!She is now wearing the Boston brace 22 hours a day. It's been about 1 month now and she's very good about wearing it. She does not want the surgery and neither do I! Is there anyone out there with a curve in the 40's who opted not to have the surgery?Is there anyone out there who recommends the Schroth program? We were also told Pilates, Yoga, Dance, and Swimming would be good for her by the physical therapist. When I called a certified Schroth doctor to ask about his program, he said NOT to do Pilates or Yoga because it could make her curve worse. I don't know what to do now! HELP!I'm trying to do all the right things for her, but there seems to be so many conflicting theories as to what works and what doesn't. I'd love to just get some perspective from other parents.How do you make that decision to have that surgery when your child looks ok(a little crooked), feels fine(no back pain), and doesn't complain about it? I really don't want that little crooked to turn into a huge crooked that will affect her internal organs as she gets older, but that surgery seems SO SEVERE! I've read some of the posts on this forum and they make me cry when I read about a parent in the hospital a day or two after sugery and they are talking about the muscle spasms and the pain their child is in. I just don't know what the right choice is right now.
We are getting another opinion from another hospital though. I hope this doctor doesn't want another set of x-rays. That's another thing I
worry about-all these x-rays. I'm sorry to go on and on, but I really need to talk to someone who is going through the same thing as my family! Any response would be greatly appreciated!Thanks!
Chris
We are getting another opinion from another hospital though. I hope this doctor doesn't want another set of x-rays. That's another thing I
worry about-all these x-rays. I'm sorry to go on and on, but I really need to talk to someone who is going through the same thing as my family! Any response would be greatly appreciated!Thanks!
Chris
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