Arianna

SCOLIOSIS TREATMENT PART 3: Lastly there’s surgery. Surgery is for those with 45° curves or greater which are very severe cases of surgery. The most common type of procedure is spinal fusion which is where vertebrae are welded together. Then hardware is used to correct the curvature of the spine. Next procedure is osteotomy which the affected bones are cut and thereafter removed. doctors typically use this procedure to treat adults with rigid scoliotic curves, flatback, children with large curves, or in cases in which realignment is necessary following a previous spinal fusion. Next procedure is video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery or VATS. This technique only really applies to patients with a thoracic curvature of the spine and is also very rarely used. As there are many reasons why one doesn’t meet all the requirements for the procedure to be performed. For a VATS procedure, doctors will need to temporarily deflate one of your lungs. During VATS a doctor will cut small incisions into your sides. Next cameras, scopes, and video monitoring devices will be inserted to help guide the procedure. Lastly there is thoracoplasty, it’s a corrective surgical procedure whose goal is to reduce the size of the rib hump. Usually, this procedure involves the partial removal of as many as five ribs. Typically, this procedure is performed in conjunction with other scoliosis corrective surgeries, but it may be performed as a separate procedure. Some will get a less invasive procedure which is known as spinal tethering which is where a cord is inserted through the spine and held down by metal anchors. This procedure is only available to kids 8-16 years of age and have to meet certain requirements to be accepted for this procedure. #scoliosis #scoliosisawareness #tennessee #bentnotbroken #scoliosiswarrior