Case Library

Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis

AIS: Anterior Approach with a Short Fusion to Correct a Thoracolumbar Curve
This 16-year-old patient had adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). She has a sharp, angular right thoracolumbar curve of 49º.
AIS: Double Major Curve, but still possible to do a very short fusion and obtain close to 100% correction.
This 16-year-old female patient clearly had adolescent idiopathic scoliosis with a double major curve. Her thoracic spine curved 49º, and her lumbar spine curve 52º.
AIS: Patient doing great and still very flexible 19 years after surgery
As a 15-year-old in 1985, this patient was diagnosed with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). She had a 54º curve in her thoracic spine and a 38º curve in her lumbar spine.
AIS: Posterior Approach with a Short Fusion to Correct a Thoracolumbar Curve
When this 14-year-old patient came to Dr. Bridwell, he said that she had adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) with a right thoracolumbar curve. The curve was 53º. In most cases, curves are more flexible in teenagers than in adults.
AIS: Thoracolumbar curve in a golfer who is still highly competitive post-operatively
In 2006, a 14-year-old male from Mississippi came to see Dr. Bridwell. He had a fairly large, stiff, and progressive thoracolumbar curve. The curve was at 75º. He and his family were interested in substantial correction, but they didn’t want a long fusion.

Adult Scoliosis

Adult Scoliosis: Double Major Curve, an excellent outcome even though the patient was close to 70 years old at the time of surgery
When this 68-year-old female patient first came to Dr. Bridwell from Tennessee, he identified that she had a progressive double major scoliosis curve. Right before surgery, she had a 54° curve in her thoracic spine (the area near the rib cage and shoulder blades) and a 50° curve in her lumbar spine (waistline level between the rib cage and pelvis). These curves had progressed roughly 20° over the last 10-15 years. This patient came from Tennessee to see Dr. Bridwell.
Adult Scoliosis: Long fusion to the sacrum less invasively than recommended by other spine surgeons
This 47-year-old female patient came from Arizona to see Dr. Bridwell with fairly big thoracic (the area near the rib cage and shoulder blades) and lumbar (waistline level between the rib cage and pelvis) curves. Her thoracic curve was at 81º, and her lumbar curve was at 71º.
Adult Scoliosis: Lumbar scoliosis treated with a very short fusion
A 49-year-old female patient came to Dr. Bridwell. Her lumbar curve had progressed from 27° to 46° over the years. She’s very healthy otherwise, and physiologically, she seems younger than her stated age.
Adult Scoliosis: Primary adult lumbar scoliosis, 5 years post-op still very active and athletic
By the time she was 57, this patient had seen two surgeons, two chiropractors, and a physical therapist. None of them could help her, and she found it increasingly difficult to do activities she loved, such as hiking, kayaking, and teaching, without pain.
Adult Scoliosis: Progressive Thoracolumbar Curve Treated Surgically, doing great more than 10 years post-op
In 1996, this 53-year-old female patient came to Dr. Bridwell with progressive adult scoliosis. She had a thoracolumbar curve—one curve that involved both her thoracic spine (the area near the rib cage and shoulder blades) and her lumbar spine (waistline level between the rib cage and pelvis) —that was 62º. The curve extended all the way to the sacrum, the end of the spine.
Adult Scoliosis: Right thoracic curve, doing great 14 years post-op
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°.

Cerebral Palsy Spinal Deformity

Cerebral Palsy with Scoliosis, a less invasive way of achieving substantial correction
When this patient with cerebral palsy first came to Dr. Bridwell, he recommended that she wear a body brace to help slow down the progression of her curves. However, even with the brace, her curves got worse.

Congenital Scoliosis

Congenital Scoliosis: Multiple congenital deformities, correction gave the patient an additional 4” of trunk height
The patient was 11 years old when she came to Dr. Bridwell. She’d been born with multiple deformities, including scoliosis. She couldn’t stand up straight. Her left ear rested on her left shoulder and her right rib cage rested on her right pelvis because her spine curved so much.
Congenital Scoliosis: Resection of the hemivertebra requiring only one-level fusion
The patient first came to Dr. Bridwell as a baby—just six months old. She’d been born with a hemivertebra in her lumbar spine (waistline level between the rib cage and pelvis), which happens when one side of a vertebra doesn’t develop all the way.

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Spinal Deformity

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, restoring ability to sit straight and comfortably in a wheelchair
This 19-year-old male patient has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). He was having trouble sitting comfortably in his wheelchair because he had developed a progressive pelvic obliquity and scoliosis; his spine was curving and pushing him to the left.

High-grade Spondylolisthesis

High-grade Spondylolisthesis: Grade IV Spondylolisthesis, restoring ability to stand up straight and walk and run without pain
This 14-year-old male patient came to Dr. Bridwell because he had increasingly severe back pain and increasing difficulty walking because of the pain. He was unable to walk very far, and he had a somewhat weak foot on one side and bad limp from irritation of his nerve roots.

Isthmic Spondylolisthesis

Isthmic Spondylolisthesis: Adult grade III spondylolisthesis with back and leg pain, still doing great at 5 years post-op
A 62-year-old female patient came to see Dr. Bridwell. She was slightly osteopenic, which means that she had low bone mass—not low enough to be considered osteoporosis, but not dense enough to be considered healthy.

Kyphosis

Kyphosis and Scoliosis: Fusion to correct substantial deformity, patient 4" taller post-op
A 62-year-old woman came to see Dr. Bridwell. Her body was significantly pitched forward, and she was leaning to the left. She had kyphosis, when the thoracic spine (the area near the rib cage and shoulder blades) curves too much, creating a hunchbacked look. Her thoracic spine curve was at 85º.
Kyphosis: Adult Scheuermann's Kyphosis, successful outcome after several prior fusion attempts
A 31-year-old female patient came to Dr. Bridwell after she’d had several failed operations for her Scheuermann’s kyphosis by other surgeons. Her kyphosis was actually worse after the failed treatments than before any surgery.
Kyphosis: Sagittal Imbalance After Previous Surgery
This patient had her first spinal surgery in 1979—not by Dr. Bridwell. It was for scoliosis, and she had a Harrington rod placed in her back to straighten and support her spine. A Harrington rod was the typical treatment for scoliosis in those days.
Kyphosis: Sagittal Imbalance with Scoliosis and Spondylolisthesis
When this patient first came to Dr. Bridwell, she already had an extensive history with spine surgeries. In 1963, when she was 12, she was diagnosed with scoliosis.
Kyphosis: Scheuermann's kyphosis in a teenage female
Dr. Bridwell diagnosed this 13-year-old female patient with progressive Scheuermann’s kyphosis. Her thoracic spine (the area near the rib cage and shoulder blades) sagittal (lateral) curve was rapidly getting worse: it went from 82º to 90º in just three months.

Spinal Muscular Atrophy Spinal Deformity

Spinal Muscular Atrophy - correction of a 127° curve to a 52° in a 7-year-old
This patient has spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), and she first came to Dr. Bridwell when she was 7 years old. Because of SMA, her spinal muscles had weakened and were no longer supporting her spine very well. She had a very severe curve: 127º.

Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis

Adult Scoliosis

Cerebral Palsy Spinal Deformity

Congenital Scoliosis

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Spinal Deformity

High-grade Spondylolisthesis

Isthmic Spondylolisthesis

Kyphosis

Spinal Muscular Atrophy Spinal Deformity

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