Re: Lucas' most recent appointment in Boston

[Guest guest]

Hi Deshea,

I'm so glad to hear that you liked Dr. Hresko. He's made us very

comfortable from the start with Abby...and now also with Noah. Abby started

off at a

47 degree curve and is currently down to 8 degrees in brace. Noah is just

being watched at this point. He's going to be a year next month and so far his

back looks ok, but his ribs are starting to protrude on the right side...plus

he has the lumbar kyphosis. We have a follow up for both of them next week

including x-rays, so we're excited to see where they're at! Glad to hear all

is going so well with Lucas!!

, mom to

Abby (35 months),

Noah (11 months) &

our newest little angel, Amelia (Only 3 days old!!)

In a message dated 1/15/2008 9:34:57 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,

deshea@... writes:

hi everyone,

a little update from us. we decided to make contact with a local ortho again

just in case we ever need someone close. i was interested in dr. hresko at

children's in boston ever since i heard that he has referred patients to dr.

sanders and was even interested in doing casting but was never able to get

that up and running for unknown reasons. more recently i read that he was the

first ortho in boston to perform the vertebral stapling procedure at

children's. previously it was only done in philly.

what a nice man. definitely different from our other experience at

children's here. basically we went over lucas' history, and he looked through

his

x-rays from montreal from the last year and a half. no new x-rays were taken.

dr. hresko said that he really likes the spinecor brace and has been

following the papers and developments of it. they used to use it at children's

for

ais cases, but had some difficulty with compliance due to the crotch straps in

the teen age girls. i guess they didn't have as good as results as dr.

rivard's group. he mentioned how good lucas looks on x-ray and just looking at

his

back. he thought that if we could continue with the spinecor for as long as

possible -- i guess meaning either until it doesn't hold the curve if does

progress or as long as lucas tolerates it, then he thought that would be

wonderful.

i must say that i thought it was very interesting that he didn't " push "

stapling. i guess that i thought he might leave that door open as an option to

us

now, but on the contrary, even when we asked about it, he did not really

elaborate or want to discuss it in detail.

anyway, i guess we will stay the course. my husband came out of the appt.

quite relieved to hear from another ortho that lucas is doing well.

thanks for listening!

deshea

__________________________________________________________

mom to lucas (6 yrs old) and ruby (3 yrs old and a handful!)

north of boston, ma

lucas was diagnosed with infantile scoliosis at 18 mos 68o/45o

spinal detethering due to a tight/fatty filum at 22 mos

tlso and charleston brace from 18 mos to 2 1/2 yrs old at children's boston,

ma

serial plaster casting from 2 1/2 until 4 1/2 yrs old at shriners in erie, pa

now in a spinecor brace at 24o/18o from montreal.

**************Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape.

http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489

[Guest guest]

So, glad to hear he is doing well and that you found a local ortho that you

like.

Have the Shriners docs talked at all about Lucas being able to come out of the

brace?

Noelle (12-2-01)

Ian (8-15-04)

Lucas' most recent appointment in Boston

hi everyone,

a little update from us. we decided to make contact with a local ortho again

just in case we ever need someone close. i was interested in dr. hresko at

children's in boston ever since i heard that he has referred patients to dr.

sanders and was even interested in doing casting but was never able to get that

up and running for unknown reasons. more recently i read that he was the first

ortho in boston to perform the vertebral stapling procedure at children's.

previously it was only done in philly.

what a nice man. definitely different from our other experience at children's

here. basically we went over lucas' history, and he looked through his x-rays

from montreal from the last year and a half. no new x-rays were taken.

dr. hresko said that he really likes the spinecor brace and has been following

the papers and developments of it. they used to use it at children's for ais

cases, but had some difficulty with compliance due to the crotch straps in the

teen age girls. i guess they didn't have as good as results as dr. rivard's

group. he mentioned how good lucas looks on x-ray and just looking at his back.

he thought that if we could continue with the spinecor for as long as possible

-- i guess meaning either until it doesn't hold the curve if does progress or as

long as lucas tolerates it, then he thought that would be wonderful.

i must say that i thought it was very interesting that he didn't " push "

stapling. i guess that i thought he might leave that door open as an option to

us now, but on the contrary, even when we asked about it, he did not really

elaborate or want to discuss it in detail.

anyway, i guess we will stay the course. my husband came out of the appt.

quite relieved to hear from another ortho that lucas is doing well.

thanks for listening!

deshea

__________________________________________________________

mom to lucas (6 yrs old) and ruby (3 yrs old and a handful!)

north of boston, ma

lucas was diagnosed with infantile scoliosis at 18 mos 68o/45o

spinal detethering due to a tight/fatty filum at 22 mos

tlso and charleston brace from 18 mos to 2 1/2 yrs old at children's boston,

ma

serial plaster casting from 2 1/2 until 4 1/2 yrs old at shriners in erie, pa

now in a spinecor brace at 24o/18o from montreal.

[Guest guest]

jennifer,

actually we don't go to a shriners anymore. after casting with dr. sanders, we

went to montreal (ste. justine's) with dr. rivard and dr. coillard for the

spinecor brace. regardless, i think that lucas will be in a brace for the long

haul. i don't think his curve will miraculously start to decrease. since he

started out at 68 and 45 degrees when first diagnosed at 18 mos, i'm happy that

we haven't had to resort to surgery (yet). i'm always looking forward to what

would our next option be if he were to progress and that is why i went to dr.

hresko. the brace is the norm for him. he does ask for a break and gets one

once a day -- swimming, gymnastics, baths -- but then no question, it goes back

on. he's been fine with that. i hope that that continues to be the case.

deshea

---- Original message ----

>Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2008 10:02:57 -0500

>

>Subject: Re: Lucas' most recent appointment in Boston

>To: <infantile_scoliosis >

>

> So, glad to hear he is doing well and that you found

> a local ortho that you like.

>

> Have the Shriners docs talked at all about Lucas

> being able to come out of the brace?

>

>

> Noelle (12-2-01)

> Ian (8-15-04)

> Lucas' most recent

> appointment in Boston

>

> hi everyone,

>

> a little update from us. we decided to make contact

> with a local ortho again just in case we ever need

> someone close. i was interested in dr. hresko at

> children's in boston ever since i heard that he has

> referred patients to dr. sanders and was even

> interested in doing casting but was never able to

> get that up and running for unknown reasons. more

> recently i read that he was the first ortho in

> boston to perform the vertebral stapling procedure

> at children's. previously it was only done in

> philly.

>

> what a nice man. definitely different from our other

> experience at children's here. basically we went

> over lucas' history, and he looked through his

> x-rays from montreal from the last year and a half.

> no new x-rays were taken.

>

> dr. hresko said that he really likes the spinecor

> brace and has been following the papers and

> developments of it. they used to use it at

> children's for ais cases, but had some difficulty

> with compliance due to the crotch straps in the teen

> age girls. i guess they didn't have as good as

> results as dr. rivard's group. he mentioned how good

> lucas looks on x-ray and just looking at his back.

> he thought that if we could continue with the

> spinecor for as long as possible -- i guess meaning

> either until it doesn't hold the curve if does

> progress or as long as lucas tolerates it, then he

> thought that would be wonderful.

>

> i must say that i thought it was very interesting

> that he didn't " push " stapling. i guess that i

> thought he might leave that door open as an option

> to us now, but on the contrary, even when we asked

> about it, he did not really elaborate or want to

> discuss it in detail.

>

> anyway, i guess we will stay the course. my husband

> came out of the appt. quite relieved to hear from

> another ortho that lucas is doing well.

>

> thanks for listening!

> deshea

> __________________________________________________________

> mom to lucas (6 yrs old) and ruby (3 yrs old and a

> handful!)

> north of boston, ma

>

> lucas was diagnosed with infantile scoliosis at 18

> mos 68o/45o

> spinal detethering due to a tight/fatty filum at 22

> mos

> tlso and charleston brace from 18 mos to 2 1/2 yrs

> old at children's boston, ma

> serial plaster casting from 2 1/2 until 4 1/2 yrs

> old at shriners in erie, pa

> now in a spinecor brace at 24o/18o from montreal.

>

> [Non-text portions of this message have been

> removed]

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Deshea,

We are from Cape Cod and were followed by Dr Hresko in Boston. He is a very

nice man and he still is so great about emailing and checking up on Adelaide's

progress. He also performed the stapling on our friend's child and they were

very pleased with him as well. Dr Hresko referred us to Dr Sander's in Erie when

he felt he couldn't help her anymore. We were very impressed with that. I think

you're in great hands with him.

Addy was braced in Boston from 9 months~20 months with the Boston Brace and

ton Brace and she rapidly progressed from 46 to 74 degrees. At that point

we began casting. She will be going into her 11th cast next month. She is

currently holding at 48 degrees with still a lot of rotation. Dr has

told us that casting " will not fix her " . So we are buying time avoiding surgery

for as long as we possibly can.

Just curious.... At what point did you stop casting and begin bracing? Were

you waiting to get to a certain degree? or were you looking to try something

different? Sorry to ask so many questions~ It seems we may have a similar

situation as you do~ and we have used some of the same Dr's.

Amy

Mom to: Isabella(7)

Amelia & Adelaide(3)

" Deshea L. " wrote:

jennifer,

actually we don't go to a shriners anymore. after casting with dr. sanders, we

went to montreal (ste. justine's) with dr. rivard and dr. coillard for the

spinecor brace. regardless, i think that lucas will be in a brace for the long

haul. i don't think his curve will miraculously start to decrease. since he

started out at 68 and 45 degrees when first diagnosed at 18 mos, i'm happy that

we haven't had to resort to surgery (yet). i'm always looking forward to what

would our next option be if he were to progress and that is why i went to dr.

hresko. the brace is the norm for him. he does ask for a break and gets one once

a day -- swimming, gymnastics, baths -- but then no question, it goes back on.

he's been fine with that. i hope that that continues to be the case.

deshea

---- Original message ----

>Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2008 10:02:57 -0500

>

>Subject: Re: Lucas' most recent appointment in Boston

>To: <infantile_scoliosis >

>

> So, glad to hear he is doing well and that you found

> a local ortho that you like.

>

> Have the Shriners docs talked at all about Lucas

> being able to come out of the brace?

>

>

> Noelle (12-2-01)

> Ian (8-15-04)

> Lucas' most recent

> appointment in Boston

>

> hi everyone,

>

> a little update from us. we decided to make contact

> with a local ortho again just in case we ever need

> someone close. i was interested in dr. hresko at

> children's in boston ever since i heard that he has

> referred patients to dr. sanders and was even

> interested in doing casting but was never able to

> get that up and running for unknown reasons. more

> recently i read that he was the first ortho in

> boston to perform the vertebral stapling procedure

> at children's. previously it was only done in

> philly.

>

> what a nice man. definitely different from our other

> experience at children's here. basically we went

> over lucas' history, and he looked through his

> x-rays from montreal from the last year and a half.

> no new x-rays were taken.

>

> dr. hresko said that he really likes the spinecor

> brace and has been following the papers and

> developments of it. they used to use it at

> children's for ais cases, but had some difficulty

> with compliance due to the crotch straps in the teen

> age girls. i guess they didn't have as good as

> results as dr. rivard's group. he mentioned how good

> lucas looks on x-ray and just looking at his back.

> he thought that if we could continue with the

> spinecor for as long as possible -- i guess meaning

> either until it doesn't hold the curve if does

> progress or as long as lucas tolerates it, then he

> thought that would be wonderful.

>

> i must say that i thought it was very interesting

> that he didn't " push " stapling. i guess that i

> thought he might leave that door open as an option

> to us now, but on the contrary, even when we asked

> about it, he did not really elaborate or want to

> discuss it in detail.

>

> anyway, i guess we will stay the course. my husband

> came out of the appt. quite relieved to hear from

> another ortho that lucas is doing well.

>

> thanks for listening!

> deshea

> __________________________________________________________

> mom to lucas (6 yrs old) and ruby (3 yrs old and a

> handful!)

> north of boston, ma

>

> lucas was diagnosed with infantile scoliosis at 18

> mos 68o/45o

> spinal detethering due to a tight/fatty filum at 22

> mos

> tlso and charleston brace from 18 mos to 2 1/2 yrs

> old at children's boston, ma

> serial plaster casting from 2 1/2 until 4 1/2 yrs

> old at shriners in erie, pa

> now in a spinecor brace at 24o/18o from montreal.

>

> [Non-text portions of this message have been

> removed]

>

>

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

Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search.

[Guest guest]

Oh, for some reason I thought the docs in Montreal were Shriners.

It's good that he doesn't resist it. When they start so young, it's really all

they know. What are his curves now?

Noelle (12-2-01)

Ian (8-15-04)

Lucas' most recent

> appointment in Boston

>

> hi everyone,

>

> a little update from us. we decided to make contact

> with a local ortho again just in case we ever need

> someone close. i was interested in dr. hresko at

> children's in boston ever since i heard that he has

> referred patients to dr. sanders and was even

> interested in doing casting but was never able to

> get that up and running for unknown reasons. more

> recently i read that he was the first ortho in

> boston to perform the vertebral stapling procedure

> at children's. previously it was only done in

> philly.

>

> what a nice man. definitely different from our other

> experience at children's here. basically we went

> over lucas' history, and he looked through his

> x-rays from montreal from the last year and a half.

> no new x-rays were taken.

>

> dr. hresko said that he really likes the spinecor

> brace and has been following the papers and

> developments of it. they used to use it at

> children's for ais cases, but had some difficulty

> with compliance due to the crotch straps in the teen

> age girls. i guess they didn't have as good as

> results as dr. rivard's group. he mentioned how good

> lucas looks on x-ray and just looking at his back.

> he thought that if we could continue with the

> spinecor for as long as possible -- i guess meaning

> either until it doesn't hold the curve if does

> progress or as long as lucas tolerates it, then he

> thought that would be wonderful.

>

> i must say that i thought it was very interesting

> that he didn't " push " stapling. i guess that i

> thought he might leave that door open as an option

> to us now, but on the contrary, even when we asked

> about it, he did not really elaborate or want to

> discuss it in detail.

>

> anyway, i guess we will stay the course. my husband

> came out of the appt. quite relieved to hear from

> another ortho that lucas is doing well.

>

> thanks for listening!

> deshea

> __________________________________________________________

> mom to lucas (6 yrs old) and ruby (3 yrs old and a

> handful!)

> north of boston, ma

>

> lucas was diagnosed with infantile scoliosis at 18

> mos 68o/45o

> spinal detethering due to a tight/fatty filum at 22

> mos

> tlso and charleston brace from 18 mos to 2 1/2 yrs

> old at children's boston, ma

> serial plaster casting from 2 1/2 until 4 1/2 yrs

> old at shriners in erie, pa

> now in a spinecor brace at 24o/18o from montreal.

>

> [Non-text portions of this message have been

> removed]

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Deshea,

Dr. Hresko has never x-rayed Abby out of brace. His thoughts were that if

the x-rays showed correction in brace then that was at least a starting point.

She's been in a brace for a little over a year now. She started off at 24

hrs. a day and now she's down to 16 - 18 hrs. a day because her back seems to

be holding the correction so she's getting a chance to help build her muscle

strength to hold her spine straight. He did mention after this next set of

x-rays to try an out of brace x-ray for the first time. She's in a new brace

because she outgrew her old one, so this is our first in brace x-ray in her

new brace. She's in a Boston brace made right there at NOPCO at Children's.

They casted her for it plus took measurements. She's down to 8 degrees in

brace so seems to be working so far...we're hoping and praying!

In a message dated 1/17/2008 11:35:32 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,

deshea@... writes:

hi natalie!

i'm glad to hear an update from you as well. of course, congrats on

your newest addition. i love the name amelia.

i forgot that you were going to dr. hresko as well. has abby had an

out of brace x-ray recently? what kind of brace is she in? poor

noah! i hope that he will resolve without needing any bracing.

please let me know how the appointment goes.

my best,

deshea

>

> Hi Deshea,

> I'm so glad to hear that you liked Dr. Hresko. He's made us very

> comfortable from the start with Abby...and now also with Noah. Abby

started off at a

> 47 degree curve and is currently down to 8 degrees in brace. Noah

is just

> being watched at this point. He's going to be a year next month

and so far his

> back looks ok, but his ribs are starting to protrude on the right

side...plus

> he has the lumbar kyphosis. We have a follow up for both of them

next week

> including x-rays, so we're excited to see where they're at! Glad

to hear all

> is going so well with Lucas!!

> , mom to

> Abby (35 months),

> Noah (11 months) &

> our newest little angel, Amelia (Only 3 days old!!)

>

>

> In a message dated 1/15/2008 9:34:57 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,

> deshea@... writes:

>

>

>

>

> hi everyone,

>

> a little update from us. we decided to make contact with a local

ortho again

> just in case we ever need someone close. i was interested in dr.

hresko at

> children's in boston ever since i heard that he has referred

patients to dr.

> sanders and was even interested in doing casting but was never able

to get

> that up and running for unknown reasons. more recently i read that

he was the

> first ortho in boston to perform the vertebral stapling procedure at

> children's. previously it was only done in philly.

>

> what a nice man. definitely different from our other experience at

> children's here. basically we went over lucas' history, and he

looked through his

> x-rays from montreal from the last year and a half. no new x-rays

were taken.

>

> dr. hresko said that he really likes the spinecor brace and has been

> following the papers and developments of it. they used to use it at

children's for

> ais cases, but had some difficulty with compliance due to the

crotch straps in

> the teen age girls. i guess they didn't have as good as results as dr.

> rivard's group. he mentioned how good lucas looks on x-ray and just

looking at his

> back. he thought that if we could continue with the spinecor for as

long as

> possible -- i guess meaning either until it doesn't hold the curve

if does

> progress or as long as lucas tolerates it, then he thought that

would be

> wonderful.

>

> i must say that i thought it was very interesting that he didn't

" push "

> stapling. i guess that i thought he might leave that door open as

an option to us

> now, but on the contrary, even when we asked about it, he did not

really

> elaborate or want to discuss it in detail.

>

> anyway, i guess we will stay the course. my husband came out of the

appt.

> quite relieved to hear from another ortho that lucas is doing well.

>

> thanks for listening!

> deshea

> ____________ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

> mom to lucas (6 yrs old) and ruby (3 yrs old and a handful!)

> north of boston, ma

>

> lucas was diagnosed with infantile scoliosis at 18 mos 68o/45o

> spinal detethering due to a tight/fatty filum at 22 mos

> tlso and charleston brace from 18 mos to 2 1/2 yrs old at

children's boston,

> ma

> serial plaster casting from 2 1/2 until 4 1/2 yrs old at shriners in

erie, pa

> now in a spinecor brace at 24o/18o from montreal.

>

>

>

>

>

>

> ************ ************<WBR>**Start the year off right. Easy ways to

> _http://body.http://body.<WBRhttp://body.<WBRhttp://body.<WBRhttp://bo_

(http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489)

>

>

> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

>

**************Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape.

http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489

[Guest guest]

hi amy,

nice to " meet " you! i think i might know your friend from the vbs

yahoo groups site!

as for your questions, lucas was 4 1/2 yrs old when we stopped

casting. he was casted for 2 years (2 1/2 to 4 1/2) with dr. sanders.

i believe a couple of factors came into play going from a cast to a

brace. he had stayed at the same degree of curvature in (<10) and out

of cast (low teens) for a long time (~1 yr). his age. it was summer

time.

lucas did get fitted with an erie brace = tlso made from a plaster

mould of his body, but we had been researching other bracing options.

the spinecor was especially appealing since it is not a hard brace,

and we wanted lucas to start building up his trunk muscles.

overall we've been very pleased with the spinecor. it is one of the

only braces that affects rotation (dr. hresko brought that up). like

i said in my previous e-mail, since lucas started out with such a high

degree of curvature, we never assumed that casting would cure him

entirely. basically we just wanted to make sure that we could avoid

surgery (specifically grow rods) as long as possible if not forever.

casting did get him down to where we have lots of options. i cannot

thank dr. sanders and the erie staff enough for that. BUT i am a

realist and try to have all the options lined up so that if things

progress rapidly, i can get lucas in somewhere fast and start heading

down that road.

did dr. sanders suggest what might be the next option for addy after

casting?

my best,

deshea

p.s. i have a website of pictures, x-rays, etc. of lucas but it is

password protected. if you want to take a look, i can e-mail you

off-board.

> jennifer,

>

> actually we don't go to a shriners anymore. after casting with dr.

sanders, we went to montreal (ste. justine's) with dr. rivard and dr.

coillard for the spinecor brace. regardless, i think that lucas will

be in a brace for the long haul. i don't think his curve will

miraculously start to decrease. since he started out at 68 and 45

degrees when first diagnosed at 18 mos, i'm happy that we haven't had

to resort to surgery (yet). i'm always looking forward to what would

our next option be if he were to progress and that is why i went to

dr. hresko. the brace is the norm for him. he does ask for a break and

gets one once a day -- swimming, gymnastics, baths -- but then no

question, it goes back on. he's been fine with that. i hope that that

continues to be the case.

>

> deshea

>

> ---- Original message ----

> >Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2008 10:02:57 -0500

> >

> >Subject: Re: Lucas' most recent appointment

in Boston

> >To: <infantile_scoliosis >

> >

> > So, glad to hear he is doing well and that you found

> > a local ortho that you like.

> >

> > Have the Shriners docs talked at all about Lucas

> > being able to come out of the brace?

> >

> >

> > Noelle (12-2-01)

> > Ian (8-15-04)

> > Lucas' most recent

> > appointment in Boston

> >

> > hi everyone,

> >

> > a little update from us. we decided to make contact

> > with a local ortho again just in case we ever need

> > someone close. i was interested in dr. hresko at

> > children's in boston ever since i heard that he has

> > referred patients to dr. sanders and was even

> > interested in doing casting but was never able to

> > get that up and running for unknown reasons. more

> > recently i read that he was the first ortho in

> > boston to perform the vertebral stapling procedure

> > at children's. previously it was only done in

> > philly.

> >

> > what a nice man. definitely different from our other

> > experience at children's here. basically we went

> > over lucas' history, and he looked through his

> > x-rays from montreal from the last year and a half.

> > no new x-rays were taken.

> >

> > dr. hresko said that he really likes the spinecor

> > brace and has been following the papers and

> > developments of it. they used to use it at

> > children's for ais cases, but had some difficulty

> > with compliance due to the crotch straps in the teen

> > age girls. i guess they didn't have as good as

> > results as dr. rivard's group. he mentioned how good

> > lucas looks on x-ray and just looking at his back.

> > he thought that if we could continue with the

> > spinecor for as long as possible -- i guess meaning

> > either until it doesn't hold the curve if does

> > progress or as long as lucas tolerates it, then he

> > thought that would be wonderful.

> >

> > i must say that i thought it was very interesting

> > that he didn't " push " stapling. i guess that i

> > thought he might leave that door open as an option

> > to us now, but on the contrary, even when we asked

> > about it, he did not really elaborate or want to

> > discuss it in detail.

> >

> > anyway, i guess we will stay the course. my husband

> > came out of the appt. quite relieved to hear from

> > another ortho that lucas is doing well.

> >

> > thanks for listening!

> > deshea

> > __________________________________________________________

> > mom to lucas (6 yrs old) and ruby (3 yrs old and a

> > handful!)

> > north of boston, ma

> >

> > lucas was diagnosed with infantile scoliosis at 18

> > mos 68o/45o

> > spinal detethering due to a tight/fatty filum at 22

> > mos

> > tlso and charleston brace from 18 mos to 2 1/2 yrs

> > old at children's boston, ma

> > serial plaster casting from 2 1/2 until 4 1/2 yrs

> > old at shriners in erie, pa

> > now in a spinecor brace at 24o/18o from montreal.

> >

> > [Non-text portions of this message have been

> > removed]

> >

> >

>

>

>

>

>

> ---------------------------------

> Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo!

Search.

>

>

[Guest guest]

hi natalie!

i'm glad to hear an update from you as well. of course, congrats on

your newest addition. i love the name amelia.

i forgot that you were going to dr. hresko as well. has abby had an

out of brace x-ray recently? what kind of brace is she in? poor

noah! i hope that he will resolve without needing any bracing.

please let me know how the appointment goes.

my best,

deshea

>

> Hi Deshea,

> I'm so glad to hear that you liked Dr. Hresko. He's made us very

> comfortable from the start with Abby...and now also with Noah. Abby

started off at a

> 47 degree curve and is currently down to 8 degrees in brace. Noah

is just

> being watched at this point. He's going to be a year next month

and so far his

> back looks ok, but his ribs are starting to protrude on the right

side...plus

> he has the lumbar kyphosis. We have a follow up for both of them

next week

> including x-rays, so we're excited to see where they're at! Glad

to hear all

> is going so well with Lucas!!

> , mom to

> Abby (35 months),

> Noah (11 months) &

> our newest little angel, Amelia (Only 3 days old!!)

>

>

> In a message dated 1/15/2008 9:34:57 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,

> deshea@... writes:

>

>

>

>

> hi everyone,

>

> a little update from us. we decided to make contact with a local

ortho again

> just in case we ever need someone close. i was interested in dr.

hresko at

> children's in boston ever since i heard that he has referred

patients to dr.

> sanders and was even interested in doing casting but was never able

to get

> that up and running for unknown reasons. more recently i read that

he was the

> first ortho in boston to perform the vertebral stapling procedure at

> children's. previously it was only done in philly.

>

> what a nice man. definitely different from our other experience at

> children's here. basically we went over lucas' history, and he

looked through his

> x-rays from montreal from the last year and a half. no new x-rays

were taken.

>

> dr. hresko said that he really likes the spinecor brace and has been

> following the papers and developments of it. they used to use it at

children's for

> ais cases, but had some difficulty with compliance due to the

crotch straps in

> the teen age girls. i guess they didn't have as good as results as dr.

> rivard's group. he mentioned how good lucas looks on x-ray and just

looking at his

> back. he thought that if we could continue with the spinecor for as

long as

> possible -- i guess meaning either until it doesn't hold the curve

if does

> progress or as long as lucas tolerates it, then he thought that

would be

> wonderful.

>

> i must say that i thought it was very interesting that he didn't

" push "

> stapling. i guess that i thought he might leave that door open as

an option to us

> now, but on the contrary, even when we asked about it, he did not

really

> elaborate or want to discuss it in detail.

>

> anyway, i guess we will stay the course. my husband came out of the

appt.

> quite relieved to hear from another ortho that lucas is doing well.

>

> thanks for listening!

> deshea

> __________________________________________________________

> mom to lucas (6 yrs old) and ruby (3 yrs old and a handful!)

> north of boston, ma

>

> lucas was diagnosed with infantile scoliosis at 18 mos 68o/45o

> spinal detethering due to a tight/fatty filum at 22 mos

> tlso and charleston brace from 18 mos to 2 1/2 yrs old at

children's boston,

> ma

> serial plaster casting from 2 1/2 until 4 1/2 yrs old at shriners in

erie, pa

> now in a spinecor brace at 24o/18o from montreal.

>

>

>

>

>

>

> **************Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape.

> http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

actually dr. rivard switches his time between ste justine's and the

shriners. unfortunately the shriners in montreal does not have the

proper equipment (new fangled x-ray machine and software for the

spinecor) to fit the brace there.

his curves are 24o/18o alhtough it looks the same to me as when we

started in montreal (18o/14o). interestingly just looking at his

back, it is really hard to see that he has scoliosis. i guess at this

point after dealing with scoliosis for 4 1/2 yrs, i'm less concerned

with the actual numbers then how he looks and of course feels but he

never complains of back pain.

my feeling is that if he does progress into the 30os (crossing my

fingers here), then we would seriously consider stapling.

my best,

deshea

>

> Oh, for some reason I thought the docs in Montreal were Shriners.

>

> It's good that he doesn't resist it. When they start so young, it's

really all they know. What are his curves now?

>

>

> Noelle (12-2-01)

> Ian (8-15-04)

> Lucas' most recent

> > appointment in Boston

> >

> > hi everyone,

> >

> > a little update from us. we decided to make contact

> > with a local ortho again just in case we ever need

> > someone close. i was interested in dr. hresko at

> > children's in boston ever since i heard that he has

> > referred patients to dr. sanders and was even

> > interested in doing casting but was never able to

> > get that up and running for unknown reasons. more

> > recently i read that he was the first ortho in

> > boston to perform the vertebral stapling procedure

> > at children's. previously it was only done in

> > philly.

> >

> > what a nice man. definitely different from our other

> > experience at children's here. basically we went

> > over lucas' history, and he looked through his

> > x-rays from montreal from the last year and a half.

> > no new x-rays were taken.

> >

> > dr. hresko said that he really likes the spinecor

> > brace and has been following the papers and

> > developments of it. they used to use it at

> > children's for ais cases, but had some difficulty

> > with compliance due to the crotch straps in the teen

> > age girls. i guess they didn't have as good as

> > results as dr. rivard's group. he mentioned how good

> > lucas looks on x-ray and just looking at his back.

> > he thought that if we could continue with the

> > spinecor for as long as possible -- i guess meaning

> > either until it doesn't hold the curve if does

> > progress or as long as lucas tolerates it, then he

> > thought that would be wonderful.

> >

> > i must say that i thought it was very interesting

> > that he didn't " push " stapling. i guess that i

> > thought he might leave that door open as an option

> > to us now, but on the contrary, even when we asked

> > about it, he did not really elaborate or want to

> > discuss it in detail.

> >

> > anyway, i guess we will stay the course. my husband

> > came out of the appt. quite relieved to hear from

> > another ortho that lucas is doing well.

> >

> > thanks for listening!

> > deshea

> > __________________________________________________________

> > mom to lucas (6 yrs old) and ruby (3 yrs old and a

> > handful!)

> > north of boston, ma

> >

> > lucas was diagnosed with infantile scoliosis at 18

> > mos 68o/45o

> > spinal detethering due to a tight/fatty filum at 22

> > mos

> > tlso and charleston brace from 18 mos to 2 1/2 yrs

> > old at children's boston, ma

> > serial plaster casting from 2 1/2 until 4 1/2 yrs

> > old at shriners in erie, pa

> > now in a spinecor brace at 24o/18o from montreal.

> >

> > [Non-text portions of this message have been

> > removed]

> >

> >

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

What is stapling? I don't know anything about that.

Noelle (12-2-01)

Ian (8-15-04)

Lucas' most recent

> > appointment in Boston

> >

> > hi everyone,

> >

> > a little update from us. we decided to make contact

> > with a local ortho again just in case we ever need

> > someone close. i was interested in dr. hresko at

> > children's in boston ever since i heard that he has

> > referred patients to dr. sanders and was even

> > interested in doing casting but was never able to

> > get that up and running for unknown reasons. more

> > recently i read that he was the first ortho in

> > boston to perform the vertebral stapling procedure

> > at children's. previously it was only done in

> > philly.

> >

> > what a nice man. definitely different from our other

> > experience at children's here. basically we went

> > over lucas' history, and he looked through his

> > x-rays from montreal from the last year and a half.

> > no new x-rays were taken.

> >

> > dr. hresko said that he really likes the spinecor

> > brace and has been following the papers and

> > developments of it. they used to use it at

> > children's for ais cases, but had some difficulty

> > with compliance due to the crotch straps in the teen

> > age girls. i guess they didn't have as good as

> > results as dr. rivard's group. he mentioned how good

> > lucas looks on x-ray and just looking at his back.

> > he thought that if we could continue with the

> > spinecor for as long as possible -- i guess meaning

> > either until it doesn't hold the curve if does

> > progress or as long as lucas tolerates it, then he

> > thought that would be wonderful.

> >

> > i must say that i thought it was very interesting

> > that he didn't " push " stapling. i guess that i

> > thought he might leave that door open as an option

> > to us now, but on the contrary, even when we asked

> > about it, he did not really elaborate or want to

> > discuss it in detail.

> >

> > anyway, i guess we will stay the course. my husband

> > came out of the appt. quite relieved to hear from

> > another ortho that lucas is doing well.

> >

> > thanks for listening!

> > deshea

> > __________________________________________________________

> > mom to lucas (6 yrs old) and ruby (3 yrs old and a

> > handful!)

> > north of boston, ma

> >

> > lucas was diagnosed with infantile scoliosis at 18

> > mos 68o/45o

> > spinal detethering due to a tight/fatty filum at 22

> > mos

> > tlso and charleston brace from 18 mos to 2 1/2 yrs

> > old at children's boston, ma

> > serial plaster casting from 2 1/2 until 4 1/2 yrs

> > old at shriners in erie, pa

> > now in a spinecor brace at 24o/18o from montreal.

> >

> > [Non-text portions of this message have been

> > removed]

> >

> >

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

it's vertebral body stapling. dr. betz at the shriners in philadelphia invented

the technique. it is considered fusionless surgery especially intended for

juvenile and adolescent scoliosis patients who have a lot of growing left to do.

it is supposed to be an internal brace and replace the external brace. they

staple the growth plates (probably not the right term) between the vertebrae on

the convex side of the curve. this slows down the growth on that side and

theoretically allows the convex side to catch up to correct the curve. they

have 2 papers out although more and more patients are getting it done and they

have more data. i have the papers if you would like me to e-mail you off-board.

also there is a vbs yahoo groups here:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/staplingsupport/

deshea

---- Original message ----

>Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2008 11:52:07 -0500

>

>Subject: Re: Re: Lucas' most recent appointment in Boston

>To: <infantile_scoliosis >

>

> What is stapling? I don't know anything about that.

>

>

> Noelle (12-2-01)

> Ian (8-15-04)

> Lucas' most

> recent

> > > appointment in Boston

> > >

> > > hi everyone,

> > >

> > > a little update from us. we decided to make

> contact

> > > with a local ortho again just in case we ever

> need

> > > someone close. i was interested in dr. hresko at

> > > children's in boston ever since i heard that he

> has

> > > referred patients to dr. sanders and was even

> > > interested in doing casting but was never able

> to

> > > get that up and running for unknown reasons.

> more

> > > recently i read that he was the first ortho in

> > > boston to perform the vertebral stapling

> procedure

> > > at children's. previously it was only done in

> > > philly.

> > >

> > > what a nice man. definitely different from our

> other

> > > experience at children's here. basically we went

> > > over lucas' history, and he looked through his

> > > x-rays from montreal from the last year and a

> half.

> > > no new x-rays were taken.

> > >

> > > dr. hresko said that he really likes the

> spinecor

> > > brace and has been following the papers and

> > > developments of it. they used to use it at

> > > children's for ais cases, but had some

> difficulty

> > > with compliance due to the crotch straps in the

> teen

> > > age girls. i guess they didn't have as good as

> > > results as dr. rivard's group. he mentioned how

> good

> > > lucas looks on x-ray and just looking at his

> back.

> > > he thought that if we could continue with the

> > > spinecor for as long as possible -- i guess

> meaning

> > > either until it doesn't hold the curve if does

> > > progress or as long as lucas tolerates it, then

> he

> > > thought that would be wonderful.

> > >

> > > i must say that i thought it was very

> interesting

> > > that he didn't " push " stapling. i guess that i

> > > thought he might leave that door open as an

> option

> > > to us now, but on the contrary, even when we

> asked

> > > about it, he did not really elaborate or want to

> > > discuss it in detail.

> > >

> > > anyway, i guess we will stay the course. my

> husband

> > > came out of the appt. quite relieved to hear

> from

> > > another ortho that lucas is doing well.

> > >

> > > thanks for listening!

> > > deshea

> > >

> __________________________________________________________

> > > mom to lucas (6 yrs old) and ruby (3 yrs old and

> a

> > > handful!)

> > > north of boston, ma

> > >

> > > lucas was diagnosed with infantile scoliosis at

> 18

> > > mos 68o/45o

> > > spinal detethering due to a tight/fatty filum at

> 22

> > > mos

> > > tlso and charleston brace from 18 mos to 2 1/2

> yrs

> > > old at children's boston, ma

> > > serial plaster casting from 2 1/2 until 4 1/2

> yrs

> > > old at shriners in erie, pa

> > > now in a spinecor brace at 24o/18o from

> montreal.

> > >

> > > [Non-text portions of this message have been

> > > removed]

> > >

> > >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > [Non-text portions of this message have been

> removed]

> >

>

> [Non-text portions of this message have been

> removed]

>

>

[Guest guest]

natalie,

i think it's so funny that different orthos at children's do things so

differently. my husband and i fought and fought to get lucas to have an in

brace x-rays after the initial fitting, but our previous ortho there refused and

always said that it was best to know what the curve out of brace was doing. our

argument was that if you didn't know how the brace was pushing on the curve,

then you wouldn't know why the curve got worse out of brace -- bad brace?

relentless curve?

i'm glad dr. hresko seems rational! that is a great reduction in brace. i hope

it continues in that direction.

deshea

---- Original message ----

>Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2008 12:12:27 EST

>From: Lkyla@...

>Subject: Re: Re: Lucas' most recent appointment in Boston

>To: infantile_scoliosis

>

> Hi Deshea,

> Dr. Hresko has never x-rayed Abby out of brace. His

> thoughts were that if

> the x-rays showed correction in brace then that was

> at least a starting point.

> She's been in a brace for a little over a year now.

> She started off at 24

> hrs. a day and now she's down to 16 - 18 hrs. a day

> because her back seems to

> be holding the correction so she's getting a chance

> to help build her muscle

> strength to hold her spine straight. He did mention

> after this next set of

> x-rays to try an out of brace x-ray for the first

> time. She's in a new brace

> because she outgrew her old one, so this is our

> first in brace x-ray in her

> new brace. She's in a Boston brace made right there

> at NOPCO at Children's.

> They casted her for it plus took measurements. She's

> down to 8 degrees in

> brace so seems to be working so far...we're hoping

> and praying!

>

>

> In a message dated 1/17/2008 11:35:32 A.M. Eastern

> Standard Time,

> deshea@... writes:

>

> hi natalie!

>

> i'm glad to hear an update from you as well. of

> course, congrats on

> your newest addition. i love the name amelia.

>

> i forgot that you were going to dr. hresko as well.

> has abby had an

> out of brace x-ray recently? what kind of brace is

> she in? poor

> noah! i hope that he will resolve without needing

> any bracing.

>

> please let me know how the appointment goes.

>

> my best,

> deshea

>

>

> >

> > Hi Deshea,

> > I'm so glad to hear that you liked Dr. Hresko.

> He's made us very

> > comfortable from the start with Abby...and now

> also with Noah. Abby

> started off at a

> > 47 degree curve and is currently down to 8 degrees

> in brace. Noah

> is just

> > being watched at this point. He's going to be a

> year next month

> and so far his

> > back looks ok, but his ribs are starting to

> protrude on the right

> side...plus

> > he has the lumbar kyphosis. We have a follow up

> for both of them

> next week

> > including x-rays, so we're excited to see where

> they're at! Glad

> to hear all

> > is going so well with Lucas!!

> > , mom to

> > Abby (35 months),

> > Noah (11 months) &

> > our newest little angel, Amelia (Only 3 days

> old!!)

> >

> >

> > In a message dated 1/15/2008 9:34:57 A.M. Eastern

> Standard Time,

> > deshea@... writes:

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > hi everyone,

> >

> > a little update from us. we decided to make

> contact with a local

> ortho again

> > just in case we ever need someone close. i was

> interested in dr.

> hresko at

> > children's in boston ever since i heard that he

> has referred

> patients to dr.

> > sanders and was even interested in doing casting

> but was never able

> to get

> > that up and running for unknown reasons. more

> recently i read that

> he was the

> > first ortho in boston to perform the vertebral

> stapling procedure at

> > children's. previously it was only done in philly.

> >

> > what a nice man. definitely different from our

> other experience at

> > children's here. basically we went over lucas'

> history, and he

> looked through his

> > x-rays from montreal from the last year and a

> half. no new x-rays

> were taken.

> >

> > dr. hresko said that he really likes the spinecor

> brace and has been

> > following the papers and developments of it. they

> used to use it at

> children's for

> > ais cases, but had some difficulty with compliance

> due to the

> crotch straps in

> > the teen age girls. i guess they didn't have as

> good as results as dr.

> > rivard's group. he mentioned how good lucas looks

> on x-ray and just

> looking at his

> > back. he thought that if we could continue with

> the spinecor for as

> long as

> > possible -- i guess meaning either until it

> doesn't hold the curve

> if does

> > progress or as long as lucas tolerates it, then he

> thought that

> would be

> > wonderful.

> >

> > i must say that i thought it was very interesting

> that he didn't

> " push "

> > stapling. i guess that i thought he might leave

> that door open as

> an option to us

> > now, but on the contrary, even when we asked about

> it, he did not

> really

> > elaborate or want to discuss it in detail.

> >

> > anyway, i guess we will stay the course. my

> husband came out of the

> appt.

> > quite relieved to hear from another ortho that

> lucas is doing well.

> >

> > thanks for listening!

> > deshea

> > ____________ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

> > mom to lucas (6 yrs old) and ruby (3 yrs old and a

> handful!)

> > north of boston, ma

> >

> > lucas was diagnosed with infantile scoliosis at 18

> mos 68o/45o

> > spinal detethering due to a tight/fatty filum at

> 22 mos

> > tlso and charleston brace from 18 mos to 2 1/2 yrs

> old at

> children's boston,

> > ma

> > serial plaster casting from 2 1/2 until 4 1/2 yrs

> old at shriners in

> erie, pa

> > now in a spinecor brace at 24o/18o from montreal.

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > ************ ************<WBR>**Start the year off

> right. Easy ways to

>

> >

> _http://body.http://body.<WBRhttp://body.<WBRhttp://body.<WBRhttp://bo_

> (http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489)

> >

> >

> > [Non-text portions of this message have been

> removed]

> >

>

> **************Start the year off right. Easy ways to

> stay in shape.

> http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489

>

> [Non-text portions of this message have been

> removed]

>

>