Braydon's Spine Page

This page is dedicated to the strength and courage Braydon had/has while living with congenital scoliosis. I hope the photos are not too graphic for anyone. My intention was to help parents of children (especially infants and very young children) realize the invasiveness of this procedure (anterior/posterior fusion) yet what strength and determination these children have to recover so quickly and so well.

Braydon's Spine Surgery

Braydon had anterior/posterior spinal fusion surgery (no instrumentation was installed) on May 20, 1996, 11 days before his first birthday. He is fused from T5-L1. The fusion has stopped the progression of a 75 degree congenital scoliosis curve. Braydon has multiple hemivertebrae with contralateral (un)segmented bar - the most aggressive combination of vertebral malformations to have.

This photo was taken just 9 days after his surgery. He is standing next to the bathtub, eagerly waiting for his first "real" bath since before his club foot repair surgery. He had spent 12 weeks in a leg cast - the cast was removed on Friday and the spinal fusion was done the next Monday.

TLSO brace

Braydon wore a TLSO brace for 5 months post-op. This was taken at a cabin in Yellowstone on July 23, 1996. His recovery from the fusion surgery was amazing to me. We were able to take this vacation to Yellowstone just 2 months after the surgery, and he traveled very well. You would never know he was still recovering.

X-ray

This is a photo copy of Braydon's current xray taken Oct. 98. The view is looking at his back and then a side view from the left. Looking closely you can see the "S" shape of his spine. The compensating curve continues to balance the congenital curve. The congenital curve measures 60 degrees in this xray. The great news is there are no signs of kyphosis, YIPPEE!

Braydon's back - Today

Taken in October 1998, this photo shows how well the incisions from the fusion surgery has healed. He has soft skin again and we both enjoy daily back rubs. His rib hump is growing more and more prominent. I am wondering if it isn't just that he is losing (has lost) his baby fat and the hump is more noticeable? Just wondering...

There is such precious little information available to parents of infants/young children with scoliosis. There are so many questions we have and I continue to pray that we find answers to those questions. Listed below are web sites that have some information about scoliosis. The information is limited but promises to expand. Also, there is a tremendous support group (via E-Mail) that has many parents at various stages of dealing with scoliosis in their children. Please take the time to subscribe to the mailing list - it will be well worth it.

UPDATE On April 6, 1999, Braydon had his 7th surgery - fatty filum/tethered spinal cord release surgery. If anyone would like to hear our experience with this surgery, please let me know. I can't begin to say enough about the Pain Services people at our hospital. This web site just isn't big enough.

Braydon is doing very well since his surgery and now that he is recovering well, I am able to realize how much this fatty filum issue affected his life prior to the surgery. He had leg pain, his foot (the clubbed foot) turned inward almost 90 degrees, and he walked with a very pronounced limp. Now those issues are very mild and he is doing much better than I ever dreamed he would do. I am very proud of him. His incision for this surgery is about 1-1/2 inches lower than his fusion surgery scar, and it is about 2 inches long. They used sutures that had to be removed, so his thin fusion scar will be matched with a railroad track of a scar lower. At least it will be a great conversation piece.

Recently, the University of Utah Scoliosis Clinic has updated their webpage with great information about scoliosis, including a vocabulary page to help learn the terminology used when discussing scoliosis issues; a page that explains the how a diagnosis of scoliosis is made and many more details that have not been available in the past. This is a MUST SEE!

NEW SITEIscoliosis Interactive

UPDATED!U of U Scoliosis Clinic

SRS Scoliosis Paper

Scoliosis E-Mail List

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