It was one of the strangest feelings I have ever experienced.The next day, I felt like Bambi on ice. As with any surgery, though, scoliosis surgery is only as successful as its recovery. You will have postoperative activity restrictions for 12 weeks after surgery. However, the population of people who might be considering degenerative scoliosis surgery trends older—60s, 70s, or even 80s—so the risks associated with this surgery tend to be higher. Although it typically occurs in children and adolescents, adults may develop "de novo" degenerative scoliosis; progression of congenital, early onset, or adolescent idiopathic scoliosis; or scoliosis secondary to another condition (eg, paralysis, trauma, spinal surgery). To clarify, scoliosis deformity surgeries are serious and complex with multi-step procedures, and sometimes more than one surgery occurs — one performed from the front and one from the back. In spinal fusion, rods and screws are attached to the spine to hold the spine in a straighter alignment. Scoliosis in children most often affects girls during growth spurts in their early teens. For scoliosis patients whose curvature has increased and they are in pain, we may recommend surgery. Typically a C curve scoliosis forms in the lumbar spine. The bones start to rotate resulting in lumbar scoliosis. My scoliosis was definitely getting the better of me. Your specialist will be able to advise you on what is the best option. But more and more, older adults are experiencing this condition, too. Learn about the symptoms and treatment options for scoliosis. Although surgery is more complicated for older people, it is by no means out of the question. Adult Scoliosis Surgery. It should look like a straight line. Of course, when an adult patient opts for spinal-fusion surgery, the hardware doesn’t need to last as long as it would in a 12-year-old patient, but it still needs to last well past the timeframe of the surgery’s known effects. If you’re an adult with degenerative scoliosis, ... important if you have to deal with scoliosis as you get older. Adult-onset scoliosis affects more of the spine, including the neck. I was so wobbly and uncoordinated. Long-term risks of scoliosis surgery have not yet been reported. However, often patients do start to slowly return to some school and work activities prior to 3 months after surgery. Traditional open surgery, though, requires cutting through muscle to access problem areas. However, thanks to minimally invasive procedures and instruments that Fessler helped pioneer, scoliosis surgery can be a less risky proposition. Spine surgeons who take care of both adult and pediatric patients with scoliosis as we do often have 30 and 40 year old women come in with moderately severe scoliosis. Treating scoliosis pain in older adults focuses on maximizing physical function. Waking up after scoliosis surgery was incredibly mind-blowing. Non-fused adult scoliosis patients do not have this same impairment. Adult scoliosis is often a continuation of adolescent scoliosis, but in some cases scoliosis (a 3D curvature of the spine) can first develop in adulthood.When that happens, if not caused by some sort of traumatic injury, it’s usually the result of disc degeneration, and/or … Surgery, physical therapy, injections can prevent spinal deterioration, lead to improvements by Jim Dryden • February 19, 2019. Surgery. When looking at the spine from the back, there is no curve. A medical indication for scoliosis surgery cannot be established in view of the lack of evidence found within this review. When you’ve undergone this life-changing procedure, it’s important to know what to expect as you heal. Each of these concerns can contribute to the deterioration of a scoliosis patient’s quality of life as they get older. WebMD Medical Reference Reviewed by Renee A. Alli, MD on December 19, 2020 . Quality of life is the deciding factor, research finds.