Update on Syd
I have also not provided an update for quite some time. Syd was 23 degrees early 2009, and then 36 degrees October 2009. She started wearing the SpineCor November 2009. She was about 21 degrees in the brace.
Then in 2010 we did two 2-week intense therapy sessions (CLEAR, Pettibon, etc.) with Dr. Sid in Manhattan (January, June) because he does this therapy and also recommends the SpineCor brace. We also started to see Dr. Betz in February 2010 regarding VBS (vertebrae body stapling). Syd was on the borderline of "staples only" vs "staples with a hybrid rod". He suggested she wear a Boston brace to hold the curve and maybe get some reduction before surgery. At this time Syd was down to about 30 degrees out of brace and about 13 degrees in brace with the Boston brace.
Syd continued to wear the SpineCor brace to school and to play sports and the Boston brace at night. By June 2010 she was down to 24 degrees and no longer on the list to have surgery. Dr. Betz suggested we wait and see how well she does from the bracing.
She continued wearing the two braces (in brace 23 hours per day). By January 2011 she was measured at 15 degrees out of brace and about 5 degrees in the Boston brace. Then in September she was still at 15 degrees out of brace. This was the first period of time (9 months) that her curve did not reduce. She was fitted for a new Boston brace but her in-brace correction was only down to 8 degrees. Our goal is to get her in-brace correction down to 0 degrees or better yet, an overcorrection (-5 degrees).
It looks like with her high thoracic curve (T8) that it is difficult to get more correction with the Boston brace. We are now getting a Providence brace for night-time only so we can get an over-correction. Our theory (whether it is right or not) is to get her <10 degrees out of brace as soon as possible and it can only be done if we have some over-correction in the brace. We will be getting the new brace next week. Syd will continue to wear the SpineCor brace to school and to play sports, but will now wear the Boston brace whenever she is home, evenings and weekends, and she will wear the Providence brace at night.
Like everyone else we are getting concerned with the potential growth spurt. Syd will be 11 in September.
A couple of my concerns/thoughts:
1. I am not confident the SpineCor brace can hold an aggressive curve through the growth spurt. I have seen several examples of girls going through the growth spurt and curve increasing to 40+ wearing the SpineCor. We are going to monitor Syd's growth and her curve very closely. Our goal is to be in a hard brace more often the next 2-3 years.
2. The VBS surgery has the best results if performed before the growth spurt. It can be done during the growth spurt, up to about age 13 I think, but better results if done before. If Syd increases back to 20, 25, or 30 degrees we will strongly consider the VBS. Best results if done before reaching 35 degrees. And it can help with the rotation too.
Thanks
Michael
I have also not provided an update for quite some time. Syd was 23 degrees early 2009, and then 36 degrees October 2009. She started wearing the SpineCor November 2009. She was about 21 degrees in the brace.
Then in 2010 we did two 2-week intense therapy sessions (CLEAR, Pettibon, etc.) with Dr. Sid in Manhattan (January, June) because he does this therapy and also recommends the SpineCor brace. We also started to see Dr. Betz in February 2010 regarding VBS (vertebrae body stapling). Syd was on the borderline of "staples only" vs "staples with a hybrid rod". He suggested she wear a Boston brace to hold the curve and maybe get some reduction before surgery. At this time Syd was down to about 30 degrees out of brace and about 13 degrees in brace with the Boston brace.
Syd continued to wear the SpineCor brace to school and to play sports and the Boston brace at night. By June 2010 she was down to 24 degrees and no longer on the list to have surgery. Dr. Betz suggested we wait and see how well she does from the bracing.
She continued wearing the two braces (in brace 23 hours per day). By January 2011 she was measured at 15 degrees out of brace and about 5 degrees in the Boston brace. Then in September she was still at 15 degrees out of brace. This was the first period of time (9 months) that her curve did not reduce. She was fitted for a new Boston brace but her in-brace correction was only down to 8 degrees. Our goal is to get her in-brace correction down to 0 degrees or better yet, an overcorrection (-5 degrees).
It looks like with her high thoracic curve (T8) that it is difficult to get more correction with the Boston brace. We are now getting a Providence brace for night-time only so we can get an over-correction. Our theory (whether it is right or not) is to get her <10 degrees out of brace as soon as possible and it can only be done if we have some over-correction in the brace. We will be getting the new brace next week. Syd will continue to wear the SpineCor brace to school and to play sports, but will now wear the Boston brace whenever she is home, evenings and weekends, and she will wear the Providence brace at night.
Like everyone else we are getting concerned with the potential growth spurt. Syd will be 11 in September.
A couple of my concerns/thoughts:
1. I am not confident the SpineCor brace can hold an aggressive curve through the growth spurt. I have seen several examples of girls going through the growth spurt and curve increasing to 40+ wearing the SpineCor. We are going to monitor Syd's growth and her curve very closely. Our goal is to be in a hard brace more often the next 2-3 years.
2. The VBS surgery has the best results if performed before the growth spurt. It can be done during the growth spurt, up to about age 13 I think, but better results if done before. If Syd increases back to 20, 25, or 30 degrees we will strongly consider the VBS. Best results if done before reaching 35 degrees. And it can help with the rotation too.
Thanks
Michael
Comment