Scoliosis surgery question

PotOfViolas · 2025-11-03T23:12:47+00:00

Young adult dd had scoliosis surgery end of August for her lower back. It was a 50 degree curve before. She had metal pegs added. She had an X ray today and I can see the curve has improved but it isn't straight. I went with her when she was in hospital but wasn't able to go today as its near her uni town. She said they were very happy. Is it normal for it not to be straight? Could it get better or worse? I didn't say all this to dd as didn't want to be a buzz kill. Just said it was good.

Bluecrumble · 04/11/2025 03:34

My DS had this surgery last year. His curve was extreme and there wasn’t an expectation that it would be straight but we knew this prior to surgery. Do you have the discharge paperwork or letters from the consultant as it may say there what the expected outcome was. I know some do come out with a straight spine if you’re on Facebook there is a great group I joined called, parents of scoliosis children UK, which is a great for asking these sorts of questions as you’re bound to find another family who has dealt with similar.

Original poster

PotOfViolas · 04/11/2025 08:45

Thank you. I'll look that up. I don't remember it saying it might not be straight on the paperwork or in the meeting. Dd went to more appointments than me as its not far from her uni.
Obviously I'm very grateful for what they've done and not complaining. Just wasn't what I was expecting from looking at pictures online.

OP posts:

Cappuccino5 · 05/11/2025 21:18

Physio here and also a fellow scoliosis mum! 21yo DD is 3 years post-op from surgery to correct a 55 degree curve. Her spine is almost completely straight, just a tiny bit of a curve left at the bottom but it doesn’t bother her. She’s naturally quite hypermobile though and worked hard with a scoliosis specific physio to increase her spinal flexibility before surgery which definitely gave her an advantage. In all of my years working with spinal patients I can honestly tell you that DD is an anomaly - it’s very rare that you see a totally straight back in post-op scoliosis.

It’s very rare that they are able to get the spine perfectly straight. There are a few factors which contribute to this including:

• Age (even at around 17/18 the spine typically begins to stiffen and is therefore harder to correct than it would be in a younger adolescent)
• Flexibility levels before surgery
• Where the curve is (higher up the spine = harder to straighten as the thoracic region just isn’t built to be as flexible as the lumbar region)
• Levels fused - if it was quite a low curve then surgeons will often prioritise leaving the patient with more healthy discs (and less risk of developing early degeneration/chronic pain) rather than putting metalwork all of the way down the spine.

The primary focus and reasoning behind performing scoliosis surgery isn’t actually to straighten the spine, for most patients this is just an added bonus. The real point is to halt curve progression and prevent the patient from deteriorating to a very severe curve where they would be at risk of experiencing breathing problems etc.

If the surgeons tried to push your DD’s spine further than it wanted to straighten then they would’ve been putting her at real risk of paralysis. It’s a fine and dangerous line. No surgeon wants to do that to a patient - especially someone so young with their whole life ahead of them. To be frank OP, a bit of a residual curve is better than being in a wheelchair!

Original poster

PotOfViolas · 05/11/2025 21:46

Cappuccino5 · 05/11/2025 21:18

Physio here and also a fellow scoliosis mum! 21yo DD is 3 years post-op from surgery to correct a 55 degree curve. Her spine is almost completely straight, just a tiny bit of a curve left at the bottom but it doesn’t bother her. She’s naturally quite hypermobile though and worked hard with a scoliosis specific physio to increase her spinal flexibility before surgery which definitely gave her an advantage. In all of my years working with spinal patients I can honestly tell you that DD is an anomaly - it’s very rare that you see a totally straight back in post-op scoliosis.

It’s very rare that they are able to get the spine perfectly straight. There are a few factors which contribute to this including:

• Age (even at around 17/18 the spine typically begins to stiffen and is therefore harder to correct than it would be in a younger adolescent)
• Flexibility levels before surgery
• Where the curve is (higher up the spine = harder to straighten as the thoracic region just isn’t built to be as flexible as the lumbar region)
• Levels fused - if it was quite a low curve then surgeons will often prioritise leaving the patient with more healthy discs (and less risk of developing early degeneration/chronic pain) rather than putting metalwork all of the way down the spine.

The primary focus and reasoning behind performing scoliosis surgery isn’t actually to straighten the spine, for most patients this is just an added bonus. The real point is to halt curve progression and prevent the patient from deteriorating to a very severe curve where they would be at risk of experiencing breathing problems etc.

If the surgeons tried to push your DD’s spine further than it wanted to straighten then they would’ve been putting her at real risk of paralysis. It’s a fine and dangerous line. No surgeon wants to do that to a patient - especially someone so young with their whole life ahead of them. To be frank OP, a bit of a residual curve is better than being in a wheelchair!

Thank you for the information.

OP posts:

toadstool32 · 06/11/2025 17:17

My daughter is 3 years post op from a 40 degree curve and is now 7 degrees. That said, she still has some winging of her shoulder blade.

waitinglistfunandgame · 03/01/2026 13:30

Another surgical technique is now available for under 18s - vertebral body tethering (VBT). It uses flexible tethers to keep the spine straight, rather than fusing the vertebrae. VBT is used extensively in the US and Europe and is available on the NHS as part of a study at St George’s in London and a hospital in Scotland.

https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2019/07/Vertebral-Body-Tethering-for-Scoliosis-Policy.pdf

For anyone interested in learning more about living with scoliosis this short documentary from the charity Scoliosis Support and Research is also worth a watch. https://ssr.org.uk/2025/10/27/living-with-scoliosis/

https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2019/07/Vertebral-Body-Tethering-for-Scoliosis-Policy.pdf