Scoliosis Surgery

Scoliosis surgery is the most invasive and drastic of all back surgeries. Surgical correction of spinal curves is only used for severe degrees of curvature or for conditions that show all the signs of worsening. Most doctors will not consider surgery an option for curves under 50 degrees. Most doctors will also not consider surgery on young children, since they are still growing. It is better to wait till the child has already gone through the majority of growth before surgery is performed.

Scoliosis Surgery

* More Scoliosis Info

Surgery for Scoliosis

The procedure used will always be some sort of spinal fusion. This procedure uses bone grafts and hardware (screws, hooks and rods) to straighten the spine and prevent further curvature from occurring. Bone grafts may be harvested from the patient or from a cadaver donor. New technology is exploring the possibility of using artificial bone as a graft substitute.

Spinal Fusion Scoliosis Surgery

The goal of this surgery is to correct as much of the spinal curve as possible and to prevent further curvature. For a typical thoracic curve, the spinal fusion must be done over 10 vertebral levels!!! This will form one solid and inflexible piece of bone from 10 individual vertebra. The fusion is achieved by using metal rods and bone grafts to join the vertebrae together.

The procedure can be done with incisions in the front of the abdomen (anterior), the back (posterior), or a combination. Incisions in the back are usually more invasive, and require more muscle dissection and damage to healthy tissue. They also require more vertebrae to be fused. Incisions in the abdomen often require fusing fewer vertebral levels, but can only be used for curves in certain areas of the spine.

It is often necessary to perform a separate discectomy surgery to remove ALL the intervertebral discs in the levels to be fused. This procedure is performed in advance of the fusion surgery, and allows for a better surgical correction during the fusion.

Warnings for Scoliosis Surgery

This surgery has a heightened risk over other spinal surgeries. The incisions are generally large. They will leave bad scars. There is a risk of infection. There is a risk of rejection of the bone grafts if they are acquired from cadavers. Spinal fluid leaking or continued bleeding sometimes occurs after surgery. Spinal degeneration of other vertebral levels will be a factor with all large fusions. There is a chance of nerve damage. There is a slight risk of paralysis due to spinal cord injury. There is also the chance for an unsuccessful fusion and a continuing curvature. Complications arise in 10% to 20% of scoliosis surgery patients.

Recommendation for Scoliosis Surgery

This is VERY SERIOUS surgery!!! It is a procedure that takes many hours to complete. The patient will need to remain hospitalized for 4 to 7 days. The patient will need to severely limit their physical activity for up to a year.

Surgery might be the only option for a serious curvature. Make sure to research the different options available to you. Be comfortable and confident with your choice of surgeon.

I offer you my most sincere wishes for a positive result�

Scoliosis Surgery to Back Pain Home page 6/17/06 Revised 6/1/07