Lydia: Weighing the Options for Overcoming Kyphosis

First, it was visible. Lydia noticed a hump in her upper spine. Then, it was a feeling. Her back was in pain every day, especially while she was playing basketball or volleyball or if she was in any one position for too long. Finally, it was diagnosed. Lydia saw a doctor in her hometown of Steamboat, Colorado, where doctors diagnosed her with Scheuermann’s kyphosis, an excessive rounding of the back due to wedge-shaped vertebrae.

While she could receive her diagnosis locally, she couldn’t get the treatment she needed there. That’s when she turned to the Spine Program at Children’s Hospital Colorado. Through a series of in-person and virtual visits, Lydia and her family learned about choices for treatment: Surgery to correct the deformity or continued physical therapy (PT) for pain management. In Lydia’s words, “Solve it or continue to manage it.”

Choosing kyphosis surgery

Lydia was no stranger to physical therapy. She’d had PT after a previous back injury she suffered in a sledding accident. In Lydia’s eyes, the PT she was already doing to manage her kyphosis wasn’t getting her the results she wanted. She wanted a more permanent solution.

“It was so nice to not only have options, but have a true understanding of the options,” says Lydia’s mom Sarah. “Nothing felt like it was pushed on us — only presented to us.”

Once she had all the information, Lydia made up her mind. She was ready for a lasting solution: Surgery. After talking to our spine experts, she began the process. Before surgery day, Lydia and her family participated in our spine surgery class, a virtual program run by the spine nursing team at Children’s Colorado to help prepare families for spine surgery. Then, she had a tour of the hospital, an overview of the procedure and underwent an MRI to assist her surgeon, Sumeet Garg, MD, in planning.

The hospital tour gave Lydia an opportunity to interact with other children with kyphosis and scoliosis, which helped mentally prepare her as she settled in for surgery.

“It was comforting to see others in the same position as me, others getting the same surgery. It helped put my mind at ease,” Lydia recalls.

A surprisingly festive Christmas at the hospital

Lydia checked into Children’s Colorado on December 23. Of course, it isn’t where she wanted to spend the holiday, but she was pleasantly surprised by festive care packages, carolers and even a visit from Santa. “Everyone tried to make it a really positive experience,” she remembers.

When it was time for surgery, Lydia underwent routine blood and breathing testing before anesthesia, and “That’s all I really remember,” she jokes.

One surgery, two rods in her back and three days later, on December 26, she was heading home with a completely aligned spine.

Recovering from kyphosis and returning to life as usual

Lydia was eager to get back into the swing of things — all the things: skiing, church youth group, Girl Scouts, school, basketball, volleyball and hanging with friends. And she was doing it all with a rediscovered comfort and confidence.

Clearly, Lydia is an active eighth grader who wasn’t going to let Scheuermann’s kyphosis hold her back. “It was hard to see her in constant pain and medicating. That was not the lifestyle we wanted,” Sarah says. “Addressing it early, when she was younger was the right call. It’s always hard to go through surgery, but it was a quicker recovery and should be smooth sailing from here.”

Today, things are looking up for Lydia. And her mom is looking up to her.

“My eyes had to go up to see her!” Sarah says after surgery resulted in Lydia growing two inches.

Good timing, too, with basketball tryouts right around the corner.