Re: It's going to be a busy Fall...

[Guest guest]

,

I don't know if you remember me, but I spoke to you briefly at the convention

about my

son . He also has kyphosis and scoliosis, and he has been wearing a back

brace

since the week after we came back from the convention.

I just wanted you to know that has been followed closely by an

orthopedic doctor

every 6 months for the past 2 years to watch for progression. He has actually

been to 3

orthopedic doctors. The first one said he definitely needed a back brace, but

didn' t want

to treat him as he had no experience with Silver. He recommended we go

to an

orthopedic doctor who specializes in kyphosis/scoliosis, so we did. The second

doctor

said he did not need a brace, and there was nothing to do at this point.

Meanwhile, I

thought 's back looked horrible. Since I had conflicting opinions, and I

really

didn't like the 2nd doctor's bedside manner, I went for a 3rd opinion with

another more

specialized orthopedic doctor. He agreed with the 2nd doctor, but said he

needed to

have X-rays taken every 6 months to make sure there is no progression.

So, we have done this, and it finally got to the point where he needed the

brace. I will tell

you though that Dr. H thought he needed a brace or surgery a while before these

doctors

would treat. By looking at , she thought his curve was more severe than

the x-

rays actually showed. I even remember her making comments like she thought his

curve

was at least 70 degrees several months before the brace was recommended by his

orthopedic doctor. 's kyphosis curve was at 65 degrees when they decided

to

brace. His scoliosis has remained stable at 23 degrees. If you know what

Connor's curve

measures, this may be a guideline for you to compare to.

has Scheuermann's Kyphosis, which is a rigid type, and I have heard this

kind

doesn't always respond to bracing. The goal of wearing a brace is to stop

progression -

not to correct the curve. If the curve is severe enough after the child's

growth period

stops, surgery is an option. It is an extensive surgery in which rods are

placed in the back

to straighten it & they only hope to correct the curve with 50% improvement.

Therefore, if

the kyphosis is at 100 degrees pre-op, they would expect to see the curve at 50

degrees

post-op.

Kim C.

[Guest guest]

Wow, it's Kearns...must be the 22nd of the month <wink>.

Sounds like you are keeping VERY busy, but also sounds like you're

enjoying it, which counts for a WHOLE big bunch!

Just want to make sure you got the HUGE message I sent with the 8 or

so picture attachments of the Wombat?

-Sharon-

Just an RSS kid who grew up