DEGENERATIVE SCOLIOSIS

Scoliosis is a medical condition in which a person's spine is curved from side to side or front to back, and may also be rotated. On an x-ray, the spine of an individual with a typical scoliosis may look more like an "S" or a "C" than a straight line. It is typically classified as congenital (caused by vertebral anomalies present at birth), idiopathic (sub-classified as infantile, juvenile, adolescent, or adult according to when onset occurred) or as having developed as a secondary symptom of another condition, such as cerebral palsy or spinal muscular atrophy.

Surgery is usually indicated for curves that have a high likelihood of progression, curves that cause a significant amount of pain with some regularity, curves that would be cosmetically unacceptable as an adult, curves in patients with spina bifida and cerebral palsy that interfere with sitting and care, and curves that affect physiological functions such as breathing. Surgery for scoliosis is usually done by an orthopaedic surgeon who specializes in spine surgery. For various reasons it is usually impossible to completely straighten a scoliotic spine, but in most cases very good corrections are achieved.