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[Pooka1]

Today's appointment was a lot more informative than the first, so I'm glad we went for a second opinion. DD has a difference in leg length of 1/4" which accounts for 6 degrees of the curve. So this doctor is calling the scoliosis "functional", not "idiopathic" which made me think if it had been caught earlier it could have at least been lessened but they said probably not because it would have had to have been caught before her menses at 12 and at that point the discrepancy was too small to catch. And by the time it was caught her growth had slowed to the point where bracing doesn't make sense. He did recommend an insert for the shoe and physical therapy for pain.

This sounds wacky.

Is this a (presently) board certified orthopedic surgeon?

[concerned dad]

aterry
I am replying to a comment you made on another thread here. (Just to confuse things even more). You mentioned in the other thread you were considering cancelling an appointment for the SpineCor. I presume you are looking to the Spinecor to address your daughter’s pain rather than an attempt to correct or stop progression of her curve. (At 16, the former is much more likely than the latter).
I guess, I just wanted to throw my 2 cents in.
I would seriously consider putting the Spinecor on hold and getting yet a third opinion. But this time, from a doctor who is an SRS member. Your insurance may very well cover it, and he could likely make use of the existing x-rays.
It seems to me that the issue of your daughter’s pain is more relevant than her curvature (20 degrees or 26 degrees?). Maybe they are related, maybe not. The NYC Chiropractors should not make the final call on the issue. They WILL sell you a brace. It is likely the brace will indeed alleviate the pain. But what if there is an underlying cause that is masked.

Pardon me if I am speaking out of line (I probably am).

[concerned dad]

From an interview with Dr Winter posted here on the NSF website

Q: Dr. Winter, is pain a symptom of scoliosis in the adolescent?
A: Very rarely. In fact, if a typical 12 to 14 year old adolescent with scoliosis visits our clinic and her main complaint is "I hurt," we would be concerned, because most patients of that age simply don't hurt. We would wonder (1) Why is this girl different from the usual patient? and (2) Is there something else going on besides scoliosis? Then we would order a variety of tests to find out whether she has a bone infection, a bone tumor, a spinal cord tumor, or some other type of problem.

My concern is the NYC guys would not (or can not) do the necessary tests to rule out other stuff. Once you're convinced the scoliosis is the cause of the pain, then, by all means, give the Spinecor a try.

[aterry]

Thanks, Concerned Dad, and thanks for picking up on this from the other thread. I'm just very confused and trying to sort things out. Yes, I'm canceling the appointment with the Deutchman office because I assume there will be pressure tactics and I don't know enough, yet, to sort through them. I don't know about a 3rd opinion with an ortho. Dr Boachie is the dr in NYC most often recommended but he doesn't take insurance and I could afford one visit to his office ($400 to $800) but I certainly couldn't take my daughter on a regular basis, so I don't know if it makes sense to start. Dr Lewis (the second ortho) said if the pain continued after 6 weeks of physical therapy that I should call back and perhaps an MRI would be needed. Here's a stupid (or at least uninformed) what does one learn about scoliosis from an MRI that one does not learn from an X-ray? The issues Dr Winter brought up, such as tumors? It wouldn't, I'm guessing, tell us much about the muscles? The spasm-ing? (which I don't understand why it's being called a spasm--isn't that a sudden, usually temporary, muscle contraction?).

[concerned dad]

I almost didnt post Dr Winters comments because I didnt want to wig you out about tumors and all that.

Did you look at the list of SRS doctors here. Maybe you can find one who takes your insurance.

Others here can better address you question about the MRI.

[aterry]

You didn't wig me out. Tumors (and other scary things) had already occurred to me. Although my hunch is that the paint is related to the muscles.

Regarding a third opinion, I guess that scares me a little. At least in terms of going to someone on the SRS list w/o a personal recommendation from someone who has tried the practice. Maybe I should spend more time searching this site for doctor recommendations. Dr Lewis (although he does not belong to SRS) came highly recommended. He's a pediatric orthopaedist and his reputation is that he's the dr that other dr's on LI send their children to. (at least in the Floral Park/Garden City area). I don't think anyone at Winthrop Orthopaedic belongs to SRS. I don't know why.

Also, thanks for making the point that pain is why we were going to see Deutchman (or some other chiropractor). Pain is the main focus, at least at the moment.

[Snoopy]

Regarding a third opinion, I guess that scares me a little. At least in terms of going to someone on the SRS list w/o a personal recommendation from someone who has tried the practice.

Trying to decide on where to take your child for a "second" opinion is always tough. I agree that a personal recommendation is usually a good place to start. I took my daughter to five different doctors and only one was recommended by a friend of a friend; all the others were pediatric Scoli doctors in my area. (I wasn't lucky enought to find this site until well into Jamie's Scoli care)

I see that you are taking your daughter to doctors in the NY area. Have you considered taking to her to the Shriner's Hospital in Philly? Maria from this site, travels from NY to Philly with her son. I took my daughter there for a fourth opinion. All the care at Shriner's is free, regardless of your insurance status. I personally can recommend Dr. Betz and MariaF knows tons about most of the doctors at Shriner's.

Good luck with your decision.

Mary Lou

[Pooka1]

Regarding a third opinion, I guess that scares me a little. At least in terms of going to someone on the SRS list w/o a personal recommendation from someone who has tried the practice. Maybe I should spend more time searching this site for doctor recommendations. Dr Lewis (although he does not belong to SRS) came highly recommended. He's a pediatric orthopaedist and his reputation is that he's the dr that other dr's on LI send their children to. (at least in the Floral Park/Garden City area). I don't think anyone at Winthrop Orthopaedic belongs to SRS. I don't know why.

Our SRS surgeon handed us off to a non-SRS surgeon for my daughter's surgery. This non-SRS surgeon is treating the first surgeon's daughter. He also appeared on a list of surgeons that other surgeons would go to for themselves.

If I was starting from scratch, I would pick an SRS surgeon. But when an SRS surgeon refers you to a non-SRS surgeon and uses a non-SRS for their own kid, there must be some good reason. In our case, that reason was because the guy is an artist. He cured my one kid and will do the surgery on the other if she needs it.

Good luck.