Re: Any specialist at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

[Guest guest]

I recommend Dr. Betz at the Shriner's Hospital in Philadelphia. I take it your

son is idiopathic? If he's idiopathic, are you going to look in to casting at

all?

Noelle (12-2-01)

Ian (8-15-04)

Any specialist at Children's Hospital of

Philadelphia

Hi,

I am new to this site. My 7 month-old son has recently been diagnosed

with infantile scoliosis. I took him today to see Dr. Nuzzo in

Summit, NJ. He was my second opinion. The first ortho said to wait

and see and come back in 6 months. He told me that these cases

usually resolve themselves spontaneously. I am not the wait and see

type, so I went for the second opinion. Now, I'm conflicted since Dr.

Nuzzo says we should brace him. Now, who do I go with? My instinct

tells me to get a third opinion. Does anyone know of a doctor at

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia? If so, please let me know.

[Guest guest]

I forgot to ask what degree curve your son has? Also, I agree with you that

waiting and watching isn't the best way to go as you miss out on the prime

growth time which you can use to correct the scoliosis through casting.

If you'd like to chat more, feel free to email me: noellesmommy@....

Noelle (12-2-01)

Ian (8-15-04)

Any specialist at Children's Hospital of

Philadelphia

Hi,

I am new to this site. My 7 month-old son has recently been diagnosed

with infantile scoliosis. I took him today to see Dr. Nuzzo in

Summit, NJ. He was my second opinion. The first ortho said to wait

and see and come back in 6 months. He told me that these cases

usually resolve themselves spontaneously. I am not the wait and see

type, so I went for the second opinion. Now, I'm conflicted since Dr.

Nuzzo says we should brace him. Now, who do I go with? My instinct

tells me to get a third opinion. Does anyone know of a doctor at

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia? If so, please let me know.

[Guest guest]

You are in luck! The Shriners in Philly was just trained so you should

get a third opinion. Someone more on top of things than myself, will

email you the doctor's name, but she is a very nice woman who will be

able to guide you appropriately!

E

________________________________

From: infantile scoliosis treatment

[mailto:infantile scoliosis treatment ] On Behalf Of a.dougherty

Sent: Monday, November 13, 2006 2:19 PM

infantile scoliosis treatment

Subject: Any specialist at Children's Hospital of

Philadelphia

Hi,

I am new to this site. My 7 month-old son has recently been diagnosed

with infantile scoliosis. I took him today to see Dr. Nuzzo in

Summit, NJ. He was my second opinion. The first ortho said to wait

and see and come back in 6 months. He told me that these cases

usually resolve themselves spontaneously. I am not the wait and see

type, so I went for the second opinion. Now, I'm conflicted since Dr.

Nuzzo says we should brace him. Now, who do I go with? My instinct

tells me to get a third opinion. Does anyone know of a doctor at

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia? If so, please let me know.

[Guest guest]

Hi

That is awesome that you are pushing for the right treatment for your son, and

I think that a third opinion is a necessity! My son Evan was diagnosed at 3

months old and was casted by the time he was 6m old. We went to several doctors

who recommended waiting or bracing or even surgery and I am so blessed that I

found Dr. in Erie. Philadelphia Shriner's hospital was trained at an

ETTP recently on the casting procedure, so that would be one option, and the

other would be to make an appointment at Shriners in Erie. Your son is at a very

important place in his devleopment, his growing can actually aide in his

correction once he is in a cast. Bracing usually does not correct a progressive

curve, however, some parents have found good results with bracing, but speaking

from our experience, casting was the right option for Evan. The rapid growth

that he is doing can be harnessed as the cast holds his spine in the correct

position for it to be trained to grow straight.

You should go to www.infantilescoliosis.org and read the site in its entirety

and then there is a DVD that you can order that explains the type of casting

that many of our children have. Good luck. Feel free to email if you have any

questions. YOu have come to the right place, there is a wealth of information

that these wonderful parents can help you with.

and Evan

" a.dougherty " <a.dougherty@...> wrote:

Hi,

I am new to this site. My 7 month-old son has recently been diagnosed

with infantile scoliosis. I took him today to see Dr. Nuzzo in

Summit, NJ. He was my second opinion. The first ortho said to wait

and see and come back in 6 months. He told me that these cases

usually resolve themselves spontaneously. I am not the wait and see

type, so I went for the second opinion. Now, I'm conflicted since Dr.

Nuzzo says we should brace him. Now, who do I go with? My instinct

tells me to get a third opinion. Does anyone know of a doctor at

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia? If so, please let me know.

---------------------------------

Check out the all-new beta - Fire up a more powerful email and get

things done faster.

[Guest guest]

Dr. D' and Dr. Betz are the doctors that were at the ETTP (and there was

one more, I think?___)

and Evan

" D. Esser " <cesser@...> wrote:

You are in luck! The Shriners in Philly was just trained so you should

get a third opinion. Someone more on top of things than myself, will

email you the doctor's name, but she is a very nice woman who will be

able to guide you appropriately!

E

________________________________

From: infantile scoliosis treatment

[mailto:infantile scoliosis treatment ] On Behalf Of a.dougherty

Sent: Monday, November 13, 2006 2:19 PM

infantile scoliosis treatment

Subject: Any specialist at Children's Hospital of

Philadelphia

Hi,

I am new to this site. My 7 month-old son has recently been diagnosed

with infantile scoliosis. I took him today to see Dr. Nuzzo in

Summit, NJ. He was my second opinion. The first ortho said to wait

and see and come back in 6 months. He told me that these cases

usually resolve themselves spontaneously. I am not the wait and see

type, so I went for the second opinion. Now, I'm conflicted since Dr.

Nuzzo says we should brace him. Now, who do I go with? My instinct

tells me to get a third opinion. Does anyone know of a doctor at

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia? If so, please let me know.

[Guest guest]

A,

I can understand how you feel, it's a shocker when the diagnosis is clear.

First thing I would do is get an x-ray with some information as soon as

possible. Philadelphia may or may not help in that I heard from the Erie docs

that the trained docs may no longer be affiliated with the hospital. I'd get

the x-rays so that you have some idea as to how large the curves are and contact

the the Shriners Hospital in Erie, PA. Let them make an assessment of your son,

they have the most experience in your area with these cases. If a doctor is

advising you to brace your son at his age, it's probably best to cast, but only

an experienced doc can advise this. Reaching out to the doctors in Erie PA will

be the best thing that you can do for your son. We did that with our daughter

and we couldn't be happier that we did.

Jerry

Marissa's Dad

Any specialist at Children's Hospital of

Philadelphia

Hi,

I am new to this site. My 7 month-old son has recently been diagnosed

with infantile scoliosis. I took him today to see Dr. Nuzzo in

Summit, NJ. He was my second opinion. The first ortho said to wait

and see and come back in 6 months. He told me that these cases

usually resolve themselves spontaneously. I am not the wait and see

type, so I went for the second opinion. Now, I'm conflicted since Dr.

Nuzzo says we should brace him. Now, who do I go with? My instinct

tells me to get a third opinion. Does anyone know of a doctor at

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia? If so, please let me know.

[Guest guest]

I think you've been given some great advice from the parents on this group thus

far. I just wanted to offer two more pieces of advice. The first would be to

find out what the RVAD (rib vertebal angle difference) of his curve is. This is

a measurement developed by Miss Mehta which is fairly accurate if a curve is

progressive or self-resolving. It's considered progressive if the RVAD is

greater than 20 degrees.

The other thing would be to get an MRI of his spine. The MRI is to determine

if there are any spinal anomolies such as a tethered cord, sphrinx,

hemivertebrae, etc. This will let you know if his curve is idiopathic or

congenital. It's usually suggessted that an echocardigram, opthamogic slit

test, and renal ultrasound are performed also. This is because with an

increased curve and rotation additional problems can present themselves.

I would also recommend starting a medical folder of some sort on your son at

this point. It's great to have x-rays, radiology reports, clinic notes, etc

with you so some procedures are repeated. I know this is a lot to take in, but

you are doing the absolute best thing for your son. Continue to stay diligent

in your advocacy and ask as many questions as you need to. If you would like to

chat, you can e-mail me your number privately and a good time to call. If

you're comfortable, what are your and your son's names? It's a little easier to

keep track of everyone with a name. Best wishes to you and your family!

Jen

http://www.infantilescoliosis.org/madisons_story.htm

Jerry Lamarre <gerard_lamarre@...> wrote:

A,

I can understand how you feel, it's a shocker when the diagnosis is clear. First

thing I would do is get an x-ray with some information as soon as possible.

Philadelphia may or may not help in that I heard from the Erie docs that the

trained docs may no longer be affiliated with the hospital. I'd get the x-rays

so that you have some idea as to how large the curves are and contact the the

Shriners Hospital in Erie, PA. Let them make an assessment of your son, they

have the most experience in your area with these cases. If a doctor is advising

you to brace your son at his age, it's probably best to cast, but only an

experienced doc can advise this. Reaching out to the doctors in Erie PA will be

the best thing that you can do for your son. We did that with our daughter and

we couldn't be happier that we did.

Jerry

Marissa's Dad

Any specialist at Children's Hospital of

Philadelphia

Hi,

I am new to this site. My 7 month-old son has recently been diagnosed

with infantile scoliosis. I took him today to see Dr. Nuzzo in

Summit, NJ. He was my second opinion. The first ortho said to wait

and see and come back in 6 months. He told me that these cases

usually resolve themselves spontaneously. I am not the wait and see

type, so I went for the second opinion. Now, I'm conflicted since Dr.

Nuzzo says we should brace him. Now, who do I go with? My instinct

tells me to get a third opinion. Does anyone know of a doctor at

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia? If so, please let me know.

[Guest guest]

If Jerry is right about that, then I would definitely go to Erie. That's where

we take our son.

Noelle (12-2-01)

Ian (8-15-04)

Any specialist at Children's Hospital of

Philadelphia

Hi,

I am new to this site. My 7 month-old son has recently been diagnosed

with infantile scoliosis. I took him today to see Dr. Nuzzo in

Summit, NJ. He was my second opinion. The first ortho said to wait

and see and come back in 6 months. He told me that these cases

usually resolve themselves spontaneously. I am not the wait and see

type, so I went for the second opinion. Now, I'm conflicted since Dr.

Nuzzo says we should brace him. Now, who do I go with? My instinct

tells me to get a third opinion. Does anyone know of a doctor at

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia? If so, please let me know.

[Guest guest]

hi a,

welcome to the board. i wanted to say that dr. nuzzo was our 3rd

opinion when our son lucas was first diagnosed with scoliosis at

18mos. we are from boston. saw an ortho at children's in boston,

then a shriners in springfield, ma, and then dr. nuzzo since my

husband's family had some interaction with him (aunt had multiple

orthopaedic issues as an adult and lived in nj for a time, plus, my

husband had flat feet and was treated by dr. nuzzo with casts when at

the time, surgery was the recommended procedure. my husband was

cured of flat feet). i highly recommend dr. nuzzo since he was the

first ortho to tell us that infantile scoliosis needed to be very

aggressively braced. at the time, my son was only wearing a brace at

night and naps. we went back to children's asking for my full-time

brace wearing -- one during the day and another at night. the ortho

was not pleased, but we got our way.

okay, so my message is meant to say that i have a very high opinion

of dr. nuzzo, but as of 3 yrs ago, he did not do casting to treat

infantile scoliosis. if he is saying brace, then definitely your

child should be treated immediately. you could get a brace from dr.

nuzzo in the interim while you are waiting for an appt. at erie or

philly. perhaps heather (moderator of the group and head of the

i.s.o.p organization -- www.infantilescoliosis.org) could put you in

touch with the orthos in philly that have been trained with the mehta

style casting method. or perhaps you could convince dr. nuzzo to

cast? the first article in the files section of this group titled "

00004624-200509000-00016.pdf

Growth as a corrective force in the early treatment of progressive

infantile scoliosis/Mehta Sept. 2005 " is something that you should

read to help you understand why we parents are advocating casting on

the group.

if you have any questions, please post away.

deshea

mom to lucas & ruby

north of of boston, ma

Any specialist at Children's

> Hospital of Philadelphia

>

> Hi,

>

> I am new to this site. My 7 month-old son has recently been diagnosed

> with infantile scoliosis. I took him today to see Dr. Nuzzo in

> Summit, NJ. He was my second opinion. The first ortho said to wait

> and see and come back in 6 months. He told me that these cases

> usually resolve themselves spontaneously. I am not the wait and see

> type, so I went for the second opinion. Now, I'm conflicted since Dr.

> Nuzzo says we should brace him. Now, who do I go with? My instinct

> tells me to get a third opinion. Does anyone know of a doctor at

> Children's Hospital of Philadelphia? If so, please let me know.

>

>

[Guest guest]

Everyone has given you great advice. I am happy to see that you are so agressive

in getting your son treatment. You are awesome. Please check into the casting

that everyone has talked about. Only a handfull of docs in the U.S. are trained

in the Mehta casting technique. If your son does have progressive idiopathic

scoli., it is the best way to go. Please share more info with us in regards to

degree, mri results, etc. These parents on this group are great and very

knowledgeable and would be happy to share their experience with you if you are

interested....me included.

/Cole

" a.dougherty " <a.dougherty@...> wrote:

Hi,

I am new to this site. My 7 month-old son has recently been diagnosed

with infantile scoliosis. I took him today to see Dr. Nuzzo in

Summit, NJ. He was my second opinion. The first ortho said to wait

and see and come back in 6 months. He told me that these cases

usually resolve themselves spontaneously. I am not the wait and see

type, so I went for the second opinion. Now, I'm conflicted since Dr.

Nuzzo says we should brace him. Now, who do I go with? My instinct

tells me to get a third opinion. Does anyone know of a doctor at

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia? If so, please let me know.

---------------------------------

Access over 1 million songs - Music Unlimited.

[Guest guest]

Hi Ada,

I just started speaking with Erie a couple weeks ago about my

daughter, so it sounds like we are at similar points in the treatment

process. Shriners in Erie was our second opinion after having a

terrible experience with the ortho here in Iowa. They were extremely

helpful and kind right from the start, and they have answered all of

my questions fully and patiently - sometimes before I even ask them!

I sent the x-rays to them, and they have scheduled an appointment for

us in January.

My daughter Lilia has a curve similar to your son's (21 degrees), so

we seem to be in a similar boat! Our ortho said he wouldn't even

consider treating her until she was a year old and her curve was

around 30 degrees. He also said that an MRI was highly inadvisable

and would be bad for her. From the responses I got from the group

about our ortho, it sounded like many doctors are similarly

dismissive. Congrats to you for taking the initiative to join this

group and learn for yourself!

I definitely recommend calling Erie. They have been such a comfort

to us, and from what the other parents have said, are among the best

doctors for our special little ones.

Nikki, Andy and Lilia

>

> Hi,

>

> I am new to this site. My 7 month-old son has recently been

diagnosed

> with infantile scoliosis. I took him today to see Dr. Nuzzo in

> Summit, NJ. He was my second opinion. The first ortho said to

wait

> and see and come back in 6 months. He told me that these cases

> usually resolve themselves spontaneously. I am not the wait and

see

> type, so I went for the second opinion. Now, I'm conflicted since

Dr.

> Nuzzo says we should brace him. Now, who do I go with? My instinct

> tells me to get a third opinion. Does anyone know of a doctor at

> Children's Hospital of Philadelphia? If so, please let me know.

>

[Guest guest]

Civetttini <ncivettini@...> wrote:

Hi Ada,

I just started speaking with Erie a couple weeks ago about my

daughter, so it sounds like we are at similar points in the treatment

process. Shriners in Erie was our second opinion after having a

terrible experience with the ortho here in Iowa. They were extremely

helpful and kind right from the start, and they have answered all of

my questions fully and patiently - sometimes before I even ask them!

I sent the x-rays to them, and they have scheduled an appointment for

us in January.

My daughter Lilia has a curve similar to your son's (21 degrees), so

we seem to be in a similar boat! Our ortho said he wouldn't even

consider treating her until she was a year old and her curve was

around 30 degrees. He also said that an MRI was highly inadvisable

and would be bad for her. From the responses I got from the group

about our ortho, it sounded like many doctors are similarly

dismissive. Congrats to you for taking the initiative to join this

group and learn for yourself!

I definitely recommend calling Erie. They have been such a comfort

to us, and from what the other parents have said, are among the best

doctors for our special little ones.

Nikki, Andy and Lilia

>

> Hi,

>

> I am new to this site. My 7 month-old son has recently been

diagnosed

> with infantile scoliosis. I took him today to see Dr. Nuzzo in

> Summit, NJ. He was my second opinion. The first ortho said to

wait

> and see and come back in 6 months. He told me that these cases

> usually resolve themselves spontaneously. I am not the wait and

see

> type, so I went for the second opinion. Now, I'm conflicted since

Dr.

> Nuzzo says we should brace him. Now, who do I go with? My instinct

> tells me to get a third opinion. Does anyone know of a doctor at

> Children's Hospital of Philadelphia? If so, please let me know.

>

i was just refered to the shriners hospital in ire pennsylvania. you can look

it up on the inernet i just did an ask.com search for shriner hospital. my

daughter is 18 months old and it took me so long before her dr. would refer me

to a specialist for her back in 4 months she went from a 20drgree to a 22 degree

and my dr . was very worried and said it was best for her to be casted. and i

live in georgia, and he said if it were his child he would go with the casting

even if it ment going back and forth to penn. from georgia. its erie shriners, i

hope this helps out.

---------------------------------

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