How best to address conditions: Scoliosis/Stenosis/Spondylolisthesis?

@libertyusa
Are you working with a rheumatologist and nutritionist/dietitian to address bone health/quality and scoliosis? Were you diagnosed with osteoporosis?

What do your MRIs of your cervical and lumbar spine show for spinal cord/nerve root compression and discs? Do you have osteophyte bone growths? What spinal levels do you have scoliosis, what degree, and what levels have degeneration/compression?

Have you worked with a geriatrician and other specialists to get referrals to orthopedic spine specialists /surgeons and neurosurgeons who have had success with surgeries for your condition and age? Do you work with a neurologist now and have you had EMG/nerve conduction studies of upper and lower limbs to narrow down what levels of your spine are compressed and check neuromuscular health?

Have you researched the neuros and spine docs at UPMC? I've been there and was pretty impressed by them. (Went because my husband was part of a study there.) I met one of the surgeons and spoke with him about my own back (scoliosis, spinal stenosis, spondylolethesis). He recommended finding a Schroth therapist, which I did. However, they do lots of back surgeries at UPMC. By the way, I think they would have operated on me but I live in Maryland and am not ready for surgery.

So sorry you are going through all of this !!...Some good suggestions/questions here…a totally different possibility might ? be to consult with an osteopath/MD to see if at least some of your problems are solvable by less invasive means… i say this mostly as a question— I have more questions than answers for sure ! Best of luck to you !

@libertyusa I know this is a frustrating situation for you. The bone quality consideration is a big one if you have osteoporosis. Scoliosis surgeries are big surgeries that usually involve placing rods and screws. The screws may pull out and loosen if bone quality is not good enough to hold it or if the screws are not placed at the correct angles. I'm not a scoliosis patient, but I have read a lot and watched a lot of spine conference presentations about this subject. The lower end of the spine has a lot of pressure on it, and bending or twisting adds more pressure, so it is important that the screws can hold because it is bearing most of your body weight. Often surgeons will ask a patient to have treatments to build bone density before doing a big surgery like this.

I know this is frustrating, but a big surgery like this may make you worse off than you are now. You would want to see a surgeon who specializes in these types of cases. Your health status affects success of surgery at any age. Your surgeon has to answer that in your case. There may be additional risks specific to your case. Some surgeons take cases with more risk, and others do not. I hope you do find care that helps.

@corinnee where is UPMC ?

LibertyUSA,
age makes us more susceptible to the anesthesia, sometimes causing mental decline.
Jennifer's comment about bone strength is important. You don't want the hardware to fail to stay in place after surgery. Has anyone suggested bone building medications? Some work rapidly.
Is your degree of curve too great or too small?
If your vertebra have fused, it's because of the discs, not because you've been sleeping in a chair. That blame is silly.
I love that you travel all over the states to get your medical degree. You sound highly energetic. I think it is more important to find the right physician. Sometimes they are in small cities unconnected to large institutions.
But first you have to strengthen those bones. Have you seen an endocrinologist, had a dexa.

@annie1 University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. You can search doctors on its web site.