Spinal Disorders

What is the spine?

The spine is made up of many individual bones called vertebrae, joined together by muscles and ligaments. Flat, soft intervertebral discs separate and cushion each vertebra from the next. Because the vertebrae are separate, the spine is flexible and can bend. Together the vertebrae, discs, muscles, and ligaments make up the vertebral column or spine. Different regions of the spine are named differently. The cervical spine refers to the neck, the thoracic spine to the chest, and the lumbar and sacral spines to the low back.

What are normal spinal curves?

Just as the shapes of peoples’ bodies differ, the normal spine varies in size and shape. You may have been told to “stand up straight,” but no one’s spine is perfectly straight. The healthy spine has front-to-back curves. It’s only when these curves become too large that they present a potential problem.

When the backward curve in the upper spine is too great, the condition is called thoracic hyper-kyphosis, round back, Scheuermann’s disease, or sometimes simply kyphosis. When there is not enough backward curve in the upper spine, the condition is called hypo-kyphosis. When the inward curve in the lower back is too great, the condition is called hyper-lordosis or swayback.

What is Scoliosis?

Although the spine does curve from front to back it should not curve sideways very much. A side-to-side curve is called scoliosis and may take the shape of an “S” (double curve) or a long “C” (single curve).

Scoliosis is more than just a curve to the side. The scoliotic spine is also rotated or twisted. As the spine twists it pulls the ribs along with it, so that one side of the chest becomes higher than the other, or the shape of the breastbone may change. You may have noticed that one of your shoulders is higher than the other or that your clothes hang unevenly at the waist.

When the backward curve in the upper spine is too great, the condition is called thoracic hyper-kyphosis, round back, Scheuermann’s disease, or sometimes simply kyphosis. When there is not enough backward curve in the upper spine, the condition is called hypo-kyphosis. When the inward curve in the lower back is too great, the condition is called hyper-lordosis or swayback.

Observation: Keeping watch on curves

I diopathic scoliosis doesn’t happen all at once, it develops gradually over time, and may worsen rapidly during rapid growth in the pre-teen and teen years. Some mild curves never worsen with growth and need no treatment. Some curves worsen only a little and need no treatment. Early detection of abnormal spinal curves by school screening programs and pediatricians is intended to find scoliosis early enough to begin brace treatment and avoid surgery. Once an abnormal spine curve has been detected, it is important to monitor the curve during growth.

The years before and during adolescence are a time of rapid growth and your curve can worsen quickly. Your doctor will decide on your treatment plan and follow-up based upon your x-rays and physical exam. Even though your curve may not bother you now, it needs to be watched all through your growth. Your doctor will show you the curve on your x-rays to help you understand how he measures the degree of curvature and its change.

Why treat scoliosis? Avoiding future problems:

Scoliosis rarely seems a problem to the child or adolescent who has a curve. Why then do we bother to monitor and treat curves? Adults with moderate or severe scoliosis can have progressively worsening curves which cause cosmetic disfigurement, back pain and in the worst cases, difficulty breathing. Treatment after the curve has already become severe in adulthood is much less successful than treatment during childhood or adolescence. By finding progressive curves early, we hope to keep them from becoming problems in adulthood.

Surgery

Some curves do not respond to bracing despite everyone’s best efforts, and some curves are just too large to begin with (greater than 40-45 degrees). If you have this type of curve, you will probably need surgery.

The goal of the surgery is a usually a solid fusion (solidification) of the curved part of the spine. A fusion is achieved by operating on the spine, adding bone chips and allowing the vertebral bones and bone chips to slowly heal together to form a solid mass of bone called a fusion. The bone chips (bone graft) may come from your hip (iliac crest) .Often, the spine is partially straightened with metal rods and hooks or wires (instrumentation). The rods or sometimes a brace or cast hold the spine in place until your fusion has a chance to heal. Once the fusion has healed (usually 3 to 12 months) the abnormal section of the spine cannot curve more. The rods, hooks or wires can usually be left in your back without causing any problems.

Posterior Fusion

Posterior fusion with instrumentation is the most common operation done for idiopathic scoliosis. In the posterior fusion the spine is operated on from behind with an incision straight down the back. Various types of rods, hooks, wires or screws are used to partially straighten the spine and hold it fast while the bone fusion occurs. For most of these operations on idiopathic scoliosis, no brace or cast is used postoperatively. In congenital scoliosis or spondylolisthesis the posterior fusion may be done without instrumentation, and a cast or brace is needed postoperatively.

Anterior Fusion

In the anterior fusion, the spine is operated on from the front, or side. Anterior fusion is used in some special instances of idiopathic scoliosis when a lot of growth remains, and commonly in congenital scoliosis, kyphosis, or myelomeningocele. An incision is made along a rib and/or down the front of the abdomen to obtain access to the front of the spine. Bone graft from the hip, rib or bone bank is used for the fusion. Screws and washers attached to a rod may be used to straighten the spine. Fusions of this type may require a postoperative brace. Some anterior fusions can be done with minimal incisions and an instrument called a thoracoscope. Rather than needing a large incision, the surgeon can operate through smaller incisions with a telescope and camera.

Anterior and Posterior Fusion

Some special cases of spinal deformity require both an anterior (front) and posterior (back) operation. Usually these can be done on the same day, but sometimes must be done at separate operations spaced 1-2 weeks apart.