Scoliosis surgery?!
Question: My friend whom I consider a sister needs to have surgery for her scoliosis. Me and her researched it a bit and it said something about metal rods? We thought.. "What the heck. How does she bend over and stuff then?"
So I was wondering.. Are the meatal rods bendableish stuff?
Answers: My friend whom I consider a sister needs to have surgery for her scoliosis. Me and her researched it a bit and it said something about metal rods? We thought.. "What the heck. How does she bend over and stuff then?"
So I was wondering.. Are the meatal rods bendableish stuff?
One common misconception is the purpose of the rods. Rods are used only to support the spine while it is fusing. Once the fusion is solid, the rods might as well not even be there. It would be just as major a surgery to take them out as to put them in so they're usually just left in.
The rods don't bend but neither does the spine where it is fused.
She'll still be able to bend. There will most likely be a bunch of vertibrae that are not fused and are still flexible. She'll bend with those. Most importantly, she'll still bend at the hips.
First, a little background. Each vertebra is assigned a name. The cervical spine has C1-C7, the thoracic spine has T1-T12, and the lumbar spine has L1-L5. The sacrum has S1-S5 but it is normal for these to be already fused.
Realistically, she's probably having the the middle (thoracic) of her back fused. Maybe a little of the lumbar and maybe a little of the cervical, but mostly in the middle. If that's true, it will be noticable, but she'll be able to do most of the bending she did before.
If you know what levels are fusion candidates, it would be helpful. She will notice fusing the cervical and lumbar vertibrae the most (in my opinion). For example, I was fused T4-L4 and I could still play volleyball (not as good, but it was possible). When I had my discs fail at L4 and L5, fusing those vertibrae (now T4-S1) really took me out of the game because I couldn't bend to spot the ball higher than, say, 60 degrees.
theyr like on her back
thery exactly like braces!
Metal rods PREVENT any movement in the spine over the part of the spine that they are attached. This is a very serious surgery with significant, permanent, changes affecting her spinal function/movements. This is literally a 'surgery of last resort'.
If her surgeon has not thoroughly explained the procedure and the consequences of it, RUN! Find a better doctor. RUN!