Doctor Recomendation

[PatrickT]

Hey All,

So, I have been trying to see the best people possible for this and travelling up to LA in Southern Cal. However, I think I need to focus on people who specialize in this type of scoliosis in the event I have to pull that trigger on surgery....still holding out! I have Kyphosis with my scoliosis and my doc at Keck Medical said even if you wanted to do surgery he wouldn't be that guy. So, now I am looking for someone who is highly specialized in that type and who is in the Southern Cal area. We have two types it seems, those quick to the knife, and those who want to take a wait and see approach as long as possible - I would prefer the latter. So, is there anyone here who could recommend who they saw as I need to start following up in this as it has been a good 8 years since I have been following this other than just working out. I am now 51 (ughh) but I still feel and look ok, and I am just wanting this to not be the thing I regret when I am 61 not treating it or whatever I need to do.

Thanks!

Patrick

[LindaRacine]

Hey All,

So, I have been trying to see the best people possible for this and travelling up to LA in Southern Cal. However, I think I need to focus on people who specialize in this type of scoliosis in the event I have to pull that trigger on surgery....still holding out! I have Kyphosis with my scoliosis and my doc at Keck Medical said even if you wanted to do surgery he wouldn't be that guy. So, now I am looking for someone who is highly specialized in that type and who is in the Southern Cal area. We have two types it seems, those quick to the knife, and those who want to take a wait and see approach as long as possible - I would prefer the latter. So, is there anyone here who could recommend who they saw as I need to start following up in this as it has been a good 8 years since I have been following this other than just working out. I am now 51 (ughh) but I still feel and look ok, and I am just wanting this to not be the thing I regret when I am 61 not treating it or whatever I need to do.

Thanks!

Patrick

Hi Patrick...

I don't know if it's possible for you, but I would encourage you to try to get up to San Francisco to see Sig Berven at UCSF. He's very conservative, and is well known for only pushing surgery when he feels that it's eventually unavoidable, and the best option. If you need surgery, he's also highly qualified, or I'm sure he'd be happy to recommend someone closer to home for you. I know a lot of scoliosis specialists, and I can pretty much guarantee that Dr. Berven is the most conservative. Since you're new, I should probably disclose that I worked in the UCSF Spine Center for many years, so I'm probably a bit prejudiced.

From a patient perspective, I encourage you to try to avoid surgery if you can, especially because you seem to not have a big pain issue. There are a lot of people who live long, happy lives with big spinal deformities.

Best of luck on your journey.

Regards,
Linda

[titaniumed]

Patrick

Its good that you are being proactive. Just because you see a scoliosis surgeon does not mean your having surgery. Tell them you want an scoliosis evaluation.

How is the pain, and how do you maintain? Do you have any pain?

I really like Dr Berven, he is a great person, and I would choose him if I needed surgery. UCSF is a major scoliosis center. Its probably the best hospital in the world due to the extremely talented people that work there. Its an amazing place....

Dr Bederman has operated on a few members here, extremely challenging scoliosis cases, perhaps a few of those members will chime in. It would be good to have a chat with him. He will shoot x-rays, and evaluate you. Get copies of your x-rays burned to disc.
https://orangecountyscoliosis.com/

Decision making on adult scoliosis surgery is serious. My talks with my surgeon took 2-1/2 years. I wasn't ready when we started and we need to to absorb all of it.

Let us know how it goes. Get copies of your x-rays burned to disc. If you move someday, you will want these.

Ed

[PatrickT]

Thank you for the update and recommendations, for some reason my notifications are not coming through to my email and I just took a look to find these replies. I guess with Southwest fares to SF it wouldn't be too bad, I just worry about if I had to do surgery being that far away would be a challenge. I will take a look around and do some digging, I suspect there are some down here I can consult. The good news is the pain is fine, I only have issues when I am walking for a while. The problem for me is seeing what this will be like in 10 years, then it might be a complete nightmare. I am hoping that new techniques will come and mitigate the issues without surgery. I also have seen the broken rods, and surgeries gone poorly and I don't want to be eating pain pills like Pez.

I really appreciate the advice!

Patrick

[asha]

Hi
Not sure if you have seen someone already, but I would recommend Dr. Pashman at Cedars in LA.

[Ldwc]

I have spoken with Dr. Melamed in LA and if he were closer to me, I would use him. Worth checking into.

Best of luck.

[LindaRacine]

I have spoken with Dr. Melamed in LA and if he were closer to me, I would use him. Worth checking into.

Best of luck.

I would be wary of going to someone like Dr. Melamed, who on his website states "If your curve is greater than 45-50°, it will very likely get worse, even after you are fully grown. This may increase the cosmetic deformity in your back, as well as affect your lung function. Surgery is recommended."

Lung function is rarely, if ever, affected to the point of needing treatment, in patients with moderate curves. Using that as justification to recommend surgery is misleading.