I am an almost 65 year old who with severe scoliosis. I would recommend Mayo Clinic ….to me, you are getting the best medical treatment possible when you are at a world-renowned hospital. If I may mention names, my main surgeon was Dr. Arjun Sebastian at Rochester, he is a neurosurgeon & specializes in correcting spinal deformities. It takes a whole team of doctors for this…..plus they do nerve monitoring during the surgery. I had 2 surgeries (T4 to pelvis): ALIF on 12/30/2026 to fuse lower back and the posterior surgery for all the main hardware placement on 1/2/26. I was in the hospital for almost 2 weeks…then home since my partner was able to care for my needs. Used a walker for the first 1.5 weeks at home. Very uncomfortable/painful for especially the first 6 weeks for me, but tolerable with muscle relaxers & Oxy. Nighttime was the worst…..as the only thing that relieved the discomfort was walking/pacing the floor. As a matter of fact, walking was the best way to alleviate discomfort all day…then I would sit in a recliner when tired. Slept in a recliner for the first 8 weeks, then I was able to sleep tolerably in bed. The first 6 weeks had most pain in my lower back but my upper back just felt like someone had placed a sheet of plywood to it! Then around the 6-8 week point, the lower back pain mostly subsided, but my upper back (waist up, middle of spine & through my shoulder blades) was quite painful. I was able to start PT after 3 months, and I really started feeling much better after 4 months & with walking several miles per day & doing home PT as recommended. I am glad I decided to do these surgeries. I can finally breathe easy, and the searing nerve pain that I had through my back, hips, and left leg is gone!!!! I actually look in the mirror now & even have a “normal looking body” and now my clothes fit right….lol! …just a silly extra perk for someone my age . Everyone is different with pain thresholds and healing. This is giving me back the chance to keep an active lifestyle! I highly recommend religiously going to PT and doing almost daily home PT exercises both before and after surgery. I learned that this is a marathon healing instead of a race…..it is a long process, but I feel a little better each week. I also bought several items to regain my independence in dressing: an extra long shoe horn, a sock aid for putting on socks, and a grabber tool since I can no longer bend/twist at the waist. Oh, & I can finally sleep for hours at a time without waking up from pain! So, life is good & getting better! Sooo happy I went to Mayo. Fantastic care from all the staff (so different from a typical hospital!!). Hopefully my before and after X-rays get posted with this (I think I removed all identifying stuff on it).