Spinal fusion and or spondylolisthesis

[IslaValargeone]

I posted on children's health a couple of weeks ago but have had no reply so I'm trying again here.
Dc (11) has been diagnosed with grade 3 spondylolisthesis and has been referred by orthopaedic consultant at our local hospital to Alder Hey. He mentioned surgery.
If you have any experience of either I would be grateful for your comments. How long you waited for surgery, your recovery afterwards etc.
I am calmer than I was after initial consultation as it was quite a surprise, we had been told it was just tight hamstrings but I knew something was wrong as she is in a lot of pain and walks most awkwardly.

I don't have any advice but my dad has this, he has not been offered an operation although he's had his diagnosis for 20 years. He keeps pushing for it as he is in so much pain and doesn't have a very good quality of life. Just wanted to say that I would definitely go for the surgery after seeing my DF suffer for so long. Hope someone is along soon who can give you some advice! X

DD1 has scoliosis and spondylolisthesis. I can't really help because her consultant says she doesn't require surgery and because she's almost stopped growing it shouldn't get any worse.

Thanks both of you.
Lola, your poor dad. It is affecting my dc on a day to day basis in every way, she has just started high school and cannot fully participate in lots of things.
Hadme, my dc also has a curve although scoliosis hasn't been mentioned so I presume it is part of the spondy symptoms.
I'll know more once we have seen the bods at Alder Hey.

Just wanted to send you and your DD my best wishes. We're in Scotland so not the same hospital but I can't speak highly enough of the consultants etc we have seen and I'm sure it'll be the same for you.

DD1 also has hypermobility and has always walked awkwardly. She does suffer from back pain quite a bit too. Hers is a grade 1.

I have mild spondyleothesis (sp) and due to it causing disc problems, I am likely to have fusion. I was only diagnosed recently and it is more likely injury related than something I have had since a child I think recover times etc depends on which vertebrae it is affecting, but, with grade 3, fusion is likely the best outcome. I know fusion has bad press. But I have heard some great responses from people who have had fusion, some of which have gone on to lead sporty, active lives.p (one is a runner one is a competitive rower). They had their fusion as adults, but I believe that recovery is generally better, fuller and quicker as a child.

I often go onto a website called Spine Health. I will link when I am my main computer as can't from tablet, it is a good site, full of info about different spinal conditions, as well as a forum for people to get support.

one thing I think is really really important is that you have the best surgeon available for the job and that are completely confident in their ability. If you have that, then spinal surgery, although yes it comes with risks, will be life changing in a positive way for your dd.

God luck.

I've got grade 2 spondy and had a fusion last year - I also had quite a pronounced inward curve in my back, don't know if that's the same as your daughter's.

The operation has been a success for me; I'm back doing lots of fitness - classes, running, I've got my life back. Before the op it hurt to even walk and my quality of life was going downhill. I was getting more and more depressed. I also had a lot of nerve pain in my leg and bum.

After being offered the operation I waited 6 months before going onto the waiting list - I wanted to try conservative methods first. Unfortunately I had a 2 year wait after that, and the pain got steadily worse and although terrified I was desperate for an attempt to remove this pain. My back feels 100% better, although I know not everyone has this degree of improvement. Also I think due to having to wait so long the nerve hasn't completely recovered and at times my leg is slightly weaker. This is only when I exercise a lot though!

Hope things work out for your daughter. Oh just thought if you're on Facebook there is a support group called Spondylolisthesis and Retrolisthesis Support. I found it a great comfort to be amongst others in the same boat; I think there are a few people on there with children who suffer with spondy too.

All the best.

Ps the recovery wasn't as bad as I thought it would be - there was no bending, lifting or twisting for about 6 weeks, but I could drive after 5. I needed help looking after my children and the house for about a month and still needed a nap in the afternoon for a good few months, but if I knew then what I know now I wouldn't have dreaded it so much.

TreelanderGlad your op was a success, that's very encouraging.
My dc's quality of life is deteriorating, she doesn't do PE at school, we carry her book bag to and from school. It's less than a mile walk but we have to stop so she can sit down.
She's only just started year 7, has not been able to join after school clubs and has had to stop going to drama class. I could go on but you are obviously very familiar with the problems. It's not the start she was hoping for. She too has a lot of nerve pain as she has lumbar stenosis which I believe can be a result of spondy?
It's obviously going to be quite a long journey, we haven't even received an appointment through for the new consultant. We are all trying to be chipper but sometimes my heart breaks when I see her waddling about. The school phoned me in the first two weeks of her starting as some of her teachers noticed she had a strange gait.
I'm not on Facebook, but I might have to sign up as finding other people with kids who have it is quite difficult.
Hope you continue to recover well, your post has really boosted me, thank you.
pavlov had a look at the spine site, gosh it's quite intense, I got a bit depressed as there is quite a lot of anti fusion feeling isn't there.

Ah yes I was wondering about recovery time, obviously we don't want her to miss too much school.

isla oh I am sorry, I didn't mean to depress you! I found the site pro-surgery, but I guess I was looking for that. I will see if I can find the threads that I had read about fusion, as there were some really supportive and pro-threads with good outcomes. That is what you need to hear.

Hi, my dd1 had spinal fusion for scoliosis in February of this year.

Dd stayed in hospital for 5 days, and was off school for 8 weeks, but this included the easter holidays. She did need to go back in for more surgery in the March due to a screw not being in the right place, but that was alot quicker op and recovery.

Dd said the first night after the op was the worst, but then after that she really battled hard to get moving and then things became a bit easier.

If you'd like to know anything else please ask