minimally invasive scoliosis surgery on teens?

[cello_mom]

It turns out my MIL apparently is good friends with Dr. Fessler who is a distinguished spine surgeon and inventor of minimally invasive (endoscopic) scoliosis surgery. My MIL is getting quite a bit of pressure from her doctor friends so we are getting quite a bit of pressure to contact Dr. Fessler as a consult on any possible surgery for our daughter. I have not idea about why one would get traditional open back scoliosis surgery versus the less invasive. DD's curve is thoracic if it makes any difference. Does anyone know anything about this type of surgery and the criteria for it versus traditional spinal surgery?

[Pooka1]

Linda is best able to field this question in my opinion.

If you go that route, make sure you get someone who has done a million of them.

[jrnyc]

hi cello_mom
you might want to check out Dr Anand's video on his
website....he is at Cedars Sinai Hospital in LA...
he has been doing minimally invasive on adult patients for years...
not just thoracic, where it started, but lumbar as well....
i do not know about who "invented" it, since many claim
that distinction, but it is more common than you may think...
and some surgeons do "partial minimal invasive" as well...

jess...and Sparky

[flerc]

It turns out my MIL apparently is good friends with Dr. Fessler who is a distinguished spine surgeon and inventor of minimally invasive (endoscopic) scoliosis surgery.

Cell_mom, it would be fine if you may suggest him to change the name of that surgery. I may assure you that many people around the world were confused thinking it refers to the surgery itself , not only the incision.

[cello_mom]

Cell_mom, it would be fine if you may suggest him to change the name of that surgery. I may assure you that many people around the world were confused thinking it refers to the surgery itself , not only the incision.

Inventor may be her word not his, but he's undoubtedly a big deal in the field.

http://www.nmh.org/nm/scoliosis-treatments

Minimally invasive surgery is now a reality for spine surgeries, including surgery to treat scoliosis. Thanks in great part to revolutionary procedures developed by Richard G. Fessler, MD, PhD, a surgeon at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and professor of neurological surgery at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and his team, minimally invasive spine surgeries have given new hope to patients with scoliosis and other spinal injuries and deformities.

[LindaRacine]

I personally don't think I'd undergo an MIS, or let my child undergo an MIS, without a lot of published evidence that it works in the long term. It might be great surgery, but I can guarantee that no one will know for at least 5-10 years after a bunch of the surgeries have been done. If you do choose an MIS surgeon, like Pooka said, get someone who has done a LOT. A million might be a bit much ;-)... but at least 100. There's a very long learning curve for these things.

--Linda

[cello_mom]

I personally don't think I'd undergo an MIS, or let my child undergo an MIS, without a lot of published evidence that it works in the long term. It might be great surgery, but I can guarantee that no one will know for at least 5-10 years after a bunch of the surgeries have been done. If you do choose an MIS surgeon, like Pooka said, get someone who has done a LOT. A million might be a bit much ;-)... but at least 100. There's a very long learning curve for these things.

--Linda

Linda i can see where you are coming from. I've also subsequently read that the size of the opening can not only impede the ability to use the right mechanical components (screws, rods etc.) but that the surgery can take much longer, and long term, yes, if they are going about the instrumentation differently we don't know what may ultimately need to be corrected later on.

Our consult is this Friday so more news after we meet with the surgeon.

[Pooka1]

If you do choose an MIS surgeon, like Pooka said, get someone who has done a LOT. A million might be a bit much ;-)... but at least 100. There's a very long learning curve for these things.

--Linda

Well, if the surgeon has less than one million procedures then I would want to know the outcomes on all of them. :-)

Cello mom,

The recovery for most kids is pretty quick with the open procedure. Not sure minimally invasive can be justified on a child but I don't know that. I think it makes more sense for adults who heal much more slowly but that's just my lay observation.

[jrnyc]

if you watch an animation of the MI procedure, the opening
does not impede anything because of the instrumentation
they use to reach in and manipulate everything...
interesting...i watched Dr Anand's video...
and the patients i spoke to were happy with their results...
they all had lumbar problems that were fixed with the surgery...

i think investigating the procedure, watching videos of how it is done, and speaking to surgeons who use it, is very important...
and i believe minimally invasive will be the future for many
types of surgery....

jess...and Sparky

[cello_mom]

Dr today said the minimal procedure is not a good option for a kid with eight or nine vertebra to be fused. After a lengthy discussion we nixed the idea.