Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Adult scoliosis patient tells her story finding hope and relief 8 weeks after major scoliosis surgery.

Got this nice letter mailed to us today from one of our recent adult
scoliosis patients.

"My scoliosis was discovered at age 20 during a physical for
employment. My problems began in 1956 and in 1963 a slipped disc
required hospitalization with traction to correct. My problems
increased and between 1998 and 2008 I began seeing a series of 10
orthopaedic and neurosurgeons who prescribed various treatments
including TENS unit, epidural injections, physical therapy as well as
numerous pain medications with short term or no help. None of the 10
surgeons offered or were capable of performing surgery to help correct
my deteriorating scoliosis condition. One nationally known orthopedic
surgeon at Emory University did offer to perform surgery in 2008 but
his prognosis was only a 50% chance of success and the surgery would
have taken 12 hours. The pain in my back prevented me from doing
lifting, reaching, sweeping, yard work, mopping, and even cooking for
my family. In 2007 I could only sit for 10 minutes and could not
drive a car. The pain continued to become worse every month. In
September 2008 I saw Dr. Hey who after reviewing my history and
treatment agreed to perform scoliosis which would take 5 hours and
have a potential 90% success. Dr. Hey is the only surgeon who
promised any significant improvement in quality of my life after the
surgery. The surgery was performed November 12 2008 in 5 hours and in
the 8 weeks since my surgery my back pain has been decreasing every
week. Although I still have some pain in my upper back, it continues
to lessen and the "hump" I had in my back as well as most of the
curvature of my spine was corrected on November 12th. My quality of
life has drastically improved and the future now appears bright as far
as my back is considered."

Margorie
Age 76
South Carolina, USA


--------
Lloyd A. Hey, MD MS
Spine Surgeon
Hey Clinic for Scoliosis and Spine Surgery
Raleigh, NC USA
http://www.heyclinic.com
Member, Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) http://www.srs.org

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