Every year during the winter and summer vacations, the number of children with scoliosis in outpatient clinics will increase significantly.
"Doctor, do you need surgery now?"
"Doctor, do you have to have surgery?"
"Director, can you be completely normal after surgery?"
These three questions are the most concerned and asked by parents!
At what age is the best age for a child with scoliosis to have surgery?
Can I get back to normal after surgery?
Let's start with the timing of surgery.
Nowadays, information is relatively developed, and many parents have a very detailed understanding before coming to the hospital, such as the harm of scoliosis is not only abnormal appearance, but also affects nerves, organs and other tissues. But at the same time, the more you look at some questions that don't have accurate answers, the more confused you become!
At what age is it good for a scoliosis child to have surgery, in fact, it is such a question that has no accurate answer!
Whether or not to have surgery, we have a technical term called "indication for surgery".
The indication for surgery is the decisive factor in the need for surgery!
If surgery is indicated, surgery is generally required, and if surgery is not indicated, direct surgery is generally not recommended.
Whether a scoliosis child needs surgery and how much surgery it will take depends on whether the child has any indication for surgery. For example, we often use the Cobb angle. If the Cobb angle ≤ 45 degrees, surgery is generally not recommended.
At what age the surgery is not to mention!
However, if the child has already indicated surgery, the spine surgeon believes that the best time for surgery is 10~18 years old. If there is an indication for surgery in a developing child, the sooner the surgery is performed, the better the effect, and the less adverse effects it will have on the child!
Is scoliosis surgery done to restore the child's spine to a point where it is completely free of curvature?
Neither is it!
The goal of scoliosis surgery is not to completely restore the child's spine to 0°, but to balance the body and preserve the ability to bend over and move!
In general, the spine surgeon will try to balance the degree of correction, body balance and fusion segments as much as possible to design the most appropriate plan for the child. Just like the barrel theory, it's about improving the short board, not just focusing on the long board.
Therefore, there is no need to focus only on whether the child is completely corrected, as long as the treatment goal is achieved!