After two years of unsuccessful bracing, we learned last week that my 14-year-old daughter will need surgery. We have yet to meet with the surgeon (waiting for a call) but hope to have the surgery at the end of January. I have some questions that I am sure the surgeon can answer for us, but since we have yet to meet him, I thought I might post a few here. -- We expect my daughter will be in the hospital for five days. How long might it be until she can return to school? Also, she is an athlete--volleyball and basketball. Her doctor said she would be released to play sports in six months. I'm wondering how strong/able she will be in six months, if during that time she will be able to work on rebuilding strength and developing skills? Finally, does the surgery require cutting into any muscles? Her scoliosis is a C-curve primarily (compensatory lumbar curve had developed but I understand that is still flexible and will correct itself when the thoracic curve is corrected???). I wonder, too, how much range of motion she will lose. Her curve is located between her shoulder blades. I appreciate learning of anyone's experience with any of the above issues. And I would like to clarify about the sports . . . The sports are not important to "me," but they are to my daughter. My hope is that her life be interrupted as little as possible, that the surgery not interfere or prevent her from having her "normal" life. Also, with the bracing (because I realize it's such a controversial issue), my daughter has been part of a nation-wide (and Canada) study of 600 patients, the purpose of which is to determine if bracing is an effective treatment or not. Her brace had a computer chip in it that monitored her body heat and by that recorded the number of hours she wore the brace (minimum 20 hours per day). At each doctor visit, they downloaded the information from the monitor. Her doctor said she was one of the most compliant patients he ever had. The brace just did not work for her. The doctor also included my daughter in a genetic study. They hope to identify genetic factors that might predict if bracing will be more or less effective for certain individuals. Thanks in advance for any information and/or encouragement!