12 year old with spondylolistheses - Spinal Cord Disorders Message Board

rwcj · 06-25-2007, 04:32 PM

Hi - My 12 year old son was diagoned 3 years ago with spondylolistheses. It had stayed at a grade 2 until his last visit earlier this year. It is now a severe grade 2. The Dr. is now preparing us for the thought of surgery. I am hoping for input. I am working on getting a second opinion from both another orthopaedic as well as an opinion from a neuro surgeon. I feel like he is a time bomb waiting to go off. He is very active as all boys are and loves sports. It would be wonderful to have his condition fixed so that we don't have to worry about further damage, however, I am not sure how to go about finding the right surgeon in our area. Also, I want to be sure surgery is the right answer at this time. Although I have seen a slow down in his stamina over the past few years, my son insists he has no pain or weakness. I do not know anyone who has ever had this problem and am unsure how to get good information.

Thanks.

SpineAZ · 06-26-2007, 07:01 PM

You may have better luck on the back pain board as most of us here are discussing cervical issues (I assume it's your son's lower spine - right?).

It's possible your son doesn't realize the weakness he has - being young he may just be used to the way he feels - when actually he could be functioning better with treatment. For my neck problem -my doctor did some tests in the office that showed decrease sensation to touch and weakness in my left arm.

I had spondylolysthesis of the lumbar spine and had surgery at age 19 for the first time (later had to have it done again becuase the surgeon didn't use hardware and probably should have).

The question I have is - how did you find out your son had this? If it wasn't due to pain or weakness, and if there is no pain or weakness currently, I'd seek a 2nd and 3rd opinion before surgery. Many people have spondylolysthesis but quite a few are symptom free and don't need surgery.