Potential Complications from Scoliosis Surgery

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When deciding on a scoliosis treatment plan, it is important to consider many factors, including the risks versus benefits of each treatment option. Scoliosis surgery has many possible complications which may include severe blood loss, paraplegia, and even death. Many orthopedists and scoliosis researchers dismiss the possible role of exercise in treating spinal curvature because they say surgery and bracing are the only proven options. Yet, are they? What is commonly believed is not necessarily what is true.

According to a paper by the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force on scoliosis screening, "Few controlled studies have evaluated surgery in terms of clinical outcomes, such as back pain and functional status. Although spinal curves and axial rotations are influenced by surgery, they do not correlate well with the incidence of back pain or other symptoms." As such, I think it is illogical to dismiss the role of one treatment option, such as exercise, because of a lack of controlled studies in favor of a different treatment option, such as surgery, when the second treatment option also lacks a significant number of controlled studies proving it's efficacy.

There are a number of published medical papers that have documented improvement in spinal curves through exercise and other alternative treatments. Plus, the health risks associated with a doctor approved, gentle yoga or Pilates exercise program for scoliosis are relatively low compared to the health risks of having major surgery. Yoga and Pilates are generally low cost, gentle forms of exercise with many health benefits regardless of any possible impact on scoliosis, so it seems illogical to not at least consider them as a possible treatment option. (Also see my section on Scoliosis Treatments - Part II for excerpts from the book Backache Relief on the efficacy of exercise and yoga treatments based on a survey of adults who had scoliosis.)

Many orthopedists' web sites on spinal curvature surgery tend to emphasize only the benefits of the operation, since orthopedic surgeons, of course, have a strong monetary incentive to perform as many surgeries as possible. However, with the advent of the Internet, more information on the true risk factors associated with these types of surgeries are now available to patients, regardless of how much these risks are glossed over or minimized in many orthopedists' web sites.

Web sites with information relating to possible complications from scoliosis surgery include:

Where Scoliosis Surgery Fails - An interesting site from a chiropractor on the risks and complications of scoliosis surgery compared to bracing as a treatment option.

Below is a sample of some of the abstracts of research papers I found regarding possible complications from different types of scoliosis surgery on PubMed:

• Two cases of fatal air embolism in children undergoing scoliosis surgery.
  
  
• Pancreatitis after surgery in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: incidence and risk factors.
  
  
• Acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding as a late complication of spinal instrumentation
  
  
• Complications in thoracoscopic spinal surgery: a study of 90 consecutive patients.
  
  
• Same-day versus staged anterior-posterior spinal surgery in a neuromuscular scoliosis population: the evaluation of medical complications
  
  
• Predicting blood loss in surgery for idiopathic scoliosis.

For more information on complications from surgery to correct scoliosis, go to PubMed and search for "scoliosis surgery complications". There are a lot of studies showing a multitude of possible complications, including death, from surgery to correct spinal curvature.

According to the article "Scoliosis", on the Health Scout web site, for people undergoing scoliosis surgery, "Complication rates are high, nearly 10%, with any of these procedures, including the standard Harrington method and the newer Cotrel-Dubousset procedure." The article has been moved and may have been rewrittn over the years, but according to the original version of the article scoliosis surgery complications may include:

• allergic reactions to anesthesia
• bleeding (patients are encouraged to donate blood before the operation for use in possible transfusions)
• postoperative pain
• nerve damage (neurologic injury can occur in 1% of patients, which can lead to motor weakness and, in very rare cases, paralysis)
• pseudoarthrosis
• disc degeneration
• low back pain
• loss of trunk mobility, balance, and muscle strength
• leg and back pain
• dislodging of hooks
• fracture of a fused vertebra

Interestingly, a recent study published in the Journal of American Medicine entitled Scoliosis Prognosis Not Always Grim Long-term study finds those with it lead normal lives is another good piece of information to consider when deciding on a scoliosis treatment plan. In this study, the researchers compared patients diagnosed with late onset scoliosis to a group of controls (people without scoliosis) and found that "for the most part, they were as healthy as the controls" (emphasis added).

This study looked at people who were first diagnosed with LIS between 1932 and 1948, at a time when surgical treatments for scoliosis were not common. Earlier studies had found that people with untreated scoliosis had high rates of respiratory failure and early death. However, this recent study contradicted the findings of the earlier studies. If the results of this recent study are true, and late onset scoliosis doesn't cause significant health problems for people 50 years later, then it would be prudent to question the high rates of scoliosis surgery routinely performed on teenagers of today. This is especially true when considering the possible risks associated with a surgical treatment option, such as paraplegia.

Before you decide on a treatment plan for your spinal curvature, it is a good idea to get as many facts as possible on the benefits, costs and risks of each possible treatment option.

Also see my section on Frequently Asked Questions About surgery for scoliosis.

Related Sections: How Exercise Helped My Scoliosis Scoliosis Exercises - Part I - Yoga and the Egoscue Method Scoliosis Exercises - Part II - Stretching, Callanetics and Trigger Point Therapy Yoga Poses for Scoliosis My complete index of all the scoliosis related pages. Recommended Book: Back Care Basics : A Doctor's Gentle Program for Back and Neck Pain Relief - has a chapter specifically on yoga for scoliosis

Visit my home page or my site map to use my search feature, and see information on connective tissue disorders and related features.

Related sections of interest:

Mitral Valve Prolapse - common in women with scoliosis

Marfan Syndrome - scoliosis is a common feature of this syndrome

Pectus Excavatum (sunken chests) - occurs frequently with scoliosis

TMJ: Diet and Exercise Treatment - covers the many factors that played a role on my TMJ recovery.

Zinc - examines the potential links between zinc deficiency and scoliosis

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