Curved Spine (Scoliosis)

Eversince Mikaail had stroke, his body structure collapsed and the right side of his body is very weak.  As he grows older his spine is noticeably curved.  We expressed our concern to his neurologist earlier this year and he in turn referred us to the orthopaedics (bone specialist).  We have seen the team of orthopaedics about quarterly and so far we have seen them a total of 3 times.  Each time we had to get his x-rays done prior to seeing the doctors.  During each consultation, we were shown that the degree of the curve had increased by about 1 degree.  The latest x-ray taken on 14 September 2010 is at 46 degrees.

After discussing with the orthopaedic surgeon, he felt that it would be better to get the surgery done while Mikaail is still young.  Tentative date is early 2011 as his surgery calendar is packed.  Surgery of this nature is called a spinal fusion, when the surgeon straightens the spine and then fuses together some of the separate bones using a metal rod so that they can’t curve round again.  This operation will take about 4 hours and Mikaail would probably have to be hospitalised for about 1 - 2 weeks. 

Scoliosis is a curve of the spine in a different direction – or perhaps you could think of it as a twisting of the spine so that one set of ribs becomes more obvious than the other as in Mikaail's condition.  His left set of ribs sticks out.  This had also caused him to be seated in an awkward manner although the doctor said that there is no pain for him.

Generally curves in your spine rarely cause pain other than a bit of an ache from time to time – nothing much more than many teenagers get on occasion. They are often mild and some people have small curves in their spines without even realising that they are there.