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Adult Scoliosis: Right thoracic curve, doing great 14 years post-op
Description
This 52-year-old female patient came to Dr. Bridwell with a progressive right thoracic curve (the area near the rib cage and shoulder blades) —it was getting progressively worse. When she first came, the curve was 73°. She had some lumbar curve (waistline level between the rib cage and pelvis) and some degenerative (age-related) changes in the lumbar spine, but that wasn’t her principle problem and complaint. Her principle complaint was the progressive thoracic curve.Treatment
Dr. Bridwell performed a posterior spinal fusion and instrumentation of just the thoracic spine, leaving the lumbar spine alone. He didn’t operate on the lumbar spine because the patient’s main curve was in the thoracic spine.
Click on thumbnails to see larger images. Click on the arrows at the bottom of the image to scroll through patient case images, or click the X to close the slideshow.
Dr. Bridwell also performed a thoracoplasty, which means resecting the ribs and suturing the cut edges of the ribs to the transverse processes or to the convex rod to reshape the rib hump.
Click on thumbnail to see a larger image. Click on the arrows at the bottom of the image to scroll through patient case images, or click the X to close the slideshow.
Result
The patient did very well with the surgery. Her thoracic curve was reduced to 32°. The rib hump also improved; that improvement is from the thoracoplasty.
At her 15-year follow-up appointment—demonstrating Dr. Bridwell’s commitment to long-term follow-up—the patient was very happy with the surgery result. Her fusion was solid, and her lumbar curve hasn’t gotten worse.
If you have any questions or would like someone to walk you through this case, please call Dr. Bridwell's office at (314) 747-2526 or (314) 747-2560 and ask to speak to either Bernie or Jackie and they or one of his staff will be happy to explain the case in greater detail to you. To learn more about how to understand SRS and Oswestry Scores, please click here.
