Advice for teenage girl having op for scoliosis

[hoorayhooray]

I have a friend whose DD is 13 and having to have an operation for Posterior correction of idiopathic juvenile scoliosis with instrumentation, +/-fusion (including spinal cord monitoring)

Does anyone here have any info they could share on what might be involved in recovery? Helpful hints etc

Thanks in advance

Not me but a colleague's daughter recently had an op for scoliosis. This is what I have picked up on in regards to school. Get the school on board, her school has been absolutely ridiculous in terms of attendance. A full day is far too much at first, half day max but with no home learning at first as she will need to come home and rest. Any chair must have a back, a stool is no good, and an early corridor pass to allow her to move between classes without risk of being jossled.

I think overall she has found being a 'patient' difficult especially as she is usually very active.

There is a parents of scoliosis FB group that your friend could join which is full of useful information. My daughter had the same op last year and they have been so reassuring.

Day 3/4 post op are the worst pain wise in most cases. Get lots of sleep before as the parent as you will be running on empty very quickly.

The op is done with the child lying on their front, so their faces are very puffy afterwards, something I wasn't expecting. Also, get out of the hospital for a walk/lunch as time in hospital takes twice as long as time out of hospital. It is honestly the longest 8 hours of my life.

I also got a drinks bottle with an extra long straw from Amazon (about £18) which was great to clip on the hospital bed. Plus fleece blankets and squashy toys were useful to get my daughter comfy.

It is a huge op, all the best to your friends daughter for it. You are welcome to message me if any specific questions though x

Get in touch with the SENDCO and plan a phased return, where she will be educated - can the timetable be delivered in ground floor classrooms or will she need to go to Learning Support for particular lessons? - what arrangements for PE? No being sent to isolation with those misbehaving - arrangements for lunch and breaktime, whether there is a place she can go if she is tired/in pain, a suitable chair she can use to support her posture, changes to her uniform to account for restrictions in mobility in the postoperative period - and to be aware that she has a right to reasonable adjustments so she can access the curriculum.

My daughter is still not doing full days at school, we are 5 months post op. She had costoplasty too as part of the op (where they fracture ribs to flatten their appearance) this has been very painful. She is so much better now than immediately after, but still has odd sore days. School have mostly been great and she has a pass to get to the front of lunch queues and can carry her own meds too so if she is sore, she can take something immediately (she is a sensible12yo) after a teacher stopped her going for pain relief as it wasn't long until the end of the lesson... she is doing amazingly when you consider the procedures she has had done and is nearly 10cm taller than before the op. She had a very big angled curve ..

I had this operation 30 years ago as a teen. Recovery was very straightforward and I had 6 weeks off school before returning as normal. I have had zero issues since. My advice would be not to encourage her to think it will be problematic. She needs to get up and moving as soon as she can.

Oh wow this is all really helpful stuff. I had got as far as Netflix for afterward and a new swimsuit to make aqua based physio more fun but this is great

I think my friend was in that parents group on Fb and got a bit scared.

Thank you so much for the offer of pm @noodles44 I will let her know.

Also good point about trying to bear it all in mind going forward

My daughter had this op 3 years ago it came on very sudden and she was very quickly referred to Alder Hey. The school were great with support and she was excused for quite a while for pe and did a phased return over 6 months. She had her op at the start of the summer hols it was the longest 12 hours of my life.They operate face down so she was very puffy and had a bald patch where her natural parting is. Your friend will need plenty of moisturiser . My daughter spend 2 days in high dependency this is nothing to be alarmed about due to the nature of the op this is normal and she was cathertarised. She was very sleepy and sick for the first 3 days. They like to get them up and about ASAP so after 3 days the physios come in by day 6 she was walking about after having her back broken in 3 places amazing. Also something to bear in mind loose underwear and nighties and your friends daughter will be taller after the op. My daughter grew 4 inches afterward so may be worth some spare money aside for some new essentials. Pack snacks bits she may feel really sick and a meal will seem overwhelming on top of the meds. And a laptop for Netflix may be useful it's a long week whilst they are there maybe also their own blanket or something. Everyone is different though it is a scary time but it does get better very quickly I wish your friend and her daughter the best of luck xx

I had this op as a late teen for a C-shaped curvature and I had a significant rib hump. I had 6 weeks off sixth form & a phased return over another 2 weeks as I got tired quickly and had to rebuild stamina. The stricter they can adhere to physio exercises and good diet/fluid intake the better. I've had no issues since & would say it's actually considered reasonably routine now.

Practical tips, make sure she has lots of magazines, audio books, TV & for the parents, be a listening ear & don't be an armchair expert. You sound like a fabulous friend