Diagnosed with kyphoscoliosis.

CourtCourt: I cannot give any directly relevant experience as, to my good fortune, my Scheuermann's kyphosis does not warrant surgery. I believe scoliosis is where you have a sideways bend.

My single simple suggestion follows. I assume you have seen a specialist (rheumatologist?) and had an MRI scan. If not, you are not at Base Camp One and must have this to enable a diagnosis. 

Then discuss your concerns with the specialist. He or she knows. We lay people do not. Get advice and options with consequences. Then make an informed choice. 

Hi, I have idiopathic scoliosis which as most people know is curvature of the spine. I was treated at 14 and was braced and them given exercises to do. Over the course of two years I continued the exercises and then was basically removed from the hospital clinic. At the age of 55 I got a trapped nerve in my neck and at this time the spinal surgeon noticed my thorasic curve. Top curve was 71degrees and the lower curve was 48degrees. Over the course of the following year I had several MRI scans, xrays, lung test and visits to the consultant. We agreed I needed surgery as he would not operater in another ten years and by then the curve could be pressig on my organs. In the Uk 50 degree curve is generally corrected by surgery. I had the opreatation Feb 2015 and once over all the nasty stuff I am well on the way to recovery. I have jsut started to take up swimming to encurage muscles that have not been used.  If your curve is 50degrees  I would have thought your surgeon would be talking about surgery to you. Ask the question when you go. There are other options but at 50degrees surgery seems to be the only soloution to stop it getting worse. As I had mine done at a late stage in life my 71degree cure could only be straightened to 37degrees as the back was too rigid. The  lower 48degrees has been corrected. Whatever decision you choose do it now rather than later. 

I think you're asking whose decision it is, right?  I'm in the US so I don't know the details for the UK, which I'm guessing is where you are.  Here, if you want to have your insurance pay for it, there's a routine of calling the insurance company and following through with what they say.

At your age, you'd probably need your parents' consent too. 

Good luck. 

Anne

Hi CourtCourt

I'm 15years old (16 in a month!) and am having spinal fusion surgery in 2 days (15th July). I assumed you're in the UK? So basically in the UK your curve has to be a minimum of 45-50 degrees in order for you to be considered for surgery. This varies surgeon to surgeon, but that is the general requirement.

You say that your curve isn't severe? By that I assume you mean less than 30 degrees, and if so they will try to help you manage the pain, but I am dubious as to whether they'll offer you the option of surgery due to the degree of your curve. Some surgeons may talk to you about it (but it wont be on the NHS) but if your curve isn't even 40 degrees then I really doubt whether you'll get it due to the massive risks involved.

For some people, pilates and physiotherapy can help with pain management - as well as a TENS machine, heat/ice packs and gels.

I'm sorry that I couldn't be more helpful but I wish you luck in future! Feel free to message me with any questions that you may have

Izzie x

Mine is not significant enough to warrant surgery, so I can't offer personal experience with that but for whatever its worth:

Being 17, if you DO go in for surgery any time soon, you have several advantages over older people who have the same or similar issues would if choosing the same option.

In general terms those include, having on average a healthier body to keep potential complications to a minimum during surgery, youth's overall faster speed of recovery and healing, and there being less time for your spine's current configuration to have so stressed other parts and joints of your body and for them to have become "settled" into an undesired configuration to the extent that they are already beyond the point where your own body can maximally readjust itself to the changes in stress forces from the vetebral bones being surgically repositioned/remodelled to the desired alignment and configuration.

At your age there's also a fairly good chance that some of the bones involved may not yet have ended their initial growth process, which leaves open the possibility that during and AFTER any surgery, they may be flexible enough to better endure/absorb/adjust to the necessarily changed stresses for movements involving your spine once its in its new alignment, and may be able to do so without causing additional, possibly permanent problems.

If they are indeed still growing, they are likely also to be more capable of QUICKLY adding significant amounts of additional material IN THE CORRECT PLACES, (initially as part of healing and then in the normal growth process).

Bone DENSITY is frequently greater when it takes place during periods of rapid growth rather than when its more slowly being deconstructed/reconstructed throughout life. If you're still growing in height you're likely still in that high density bone growth period of time.

(If you're a research addict and/or all this is old news to you, remember its the thought that counts.)