Adult Scoliosis: What is surgery like? Outcomes? Recovery?

I am 79 years old and have severe scoliosis and spinal stenosis. I am in pain every day, however UI would not consider surgery on my spine. I know several people who are worse off after this kind of surgery than they were before it. The slightest error by the surgeon and your life is changed forever. If you can possibly live and enjoy life without the surgery, I would advise you to do so. But if you decide on surgery, find the best surgeon in the country even if you have to fly across the nation to do so.

I just posted this here on something similar:
"I suggest seeing a couple more Spinal Surgeons. I saw 4. They all had a different idea - from nothing to fusing my entire back! Get more info. I was VERY pleased with my L3,4, 5 fusion and got my life back. It should all depend on something simple like an xray! Believe it or not. A good orthopedic spine surgeon can see about everything he needs to know from an xray. I will need more surgery but I had wanted to keep my mobility so we "settled" on what worked best for me. Its been 8 years. Happy as a clam. If you can get to UCSD orthopedics, they are tremendous!"
I have degenerative disc disease and I have scoliosis. My surgery repaired some of both. I am a big proponent of surgery IF you have done your due diligence, researched and tried everything and gotten several opinions. Once the correct doctor entered my life the decision was a piece of cake!

@celjoh

I am in a similar situation. Could you provide a little more detail regarding your strength training and yoga classes.?

@loriesco I live in San Diego. Could you provide the name of your surgeon?

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).

I am in Pittsburgh but flying up to Mayo to see Dr Sebastian and they will do 4 days of tests to determine my best situation. I have been doing 18 months od PT, injections and everything I can try from accupunture to chiropractor. I had 7 bones fused over 50 years ago as a teen. 12 inch rod to correct a 60 degree c curve. Has been ok since but L 5 - S 1 now smashed together under the rod due to a weight lifting problem in late 2024. Doctors here say nothing except surgery to open those up and get relief. I can hardly walk now. Pgh doc has surgery plan but want Mayo to give me their opinion. Finally after waiting 4 months I will fly up next Monday. The pain is so bad, I can handlle pain after surgery as long as it will eventually get better.
I just want to walk my dog again

@susiesmith I am at UCSD and anyone in the Orthopedic Spine dept. is great. I use Dr. Zlomislec. You have to be very patient if you decide to see him. There is only one of him and many people in need. He gives the person in front of him all of his time. They have lots of Fellows and residents who step in if he gets an emergency surgery. But he's my guy!

@elainep Hello, thank you for your story. And I have to say, traveling to the future for surgery was not something I thought of. Ha ha! Just kidding, I made the comment because you said you had ALIF surgery on 12/30/2026.

These are good stories to have on message boards like this one. When dealing with back/spine surgery, most people are not told the actual success rate by their surgeon. This is too bad, as it makes it seem these doctors might not be honest with you about everything. I had ALIF surgery back in November of 2025, so I'm about 6 months post-op. The surgeon fused my spine at L5-S1 due to the bottom disc collapsing on the right side.

Another thing you mentioned, Elaine, was your physical therapy. My surgeon, who is a teaching professor, who designs minimally invasive procedures for other doctors to use, who is at the top of his profession, did not even consider scheduling me for physical therapy. I asked him about therapy before the surgery last year, and he dismissed it as I wouldn't need it, that I will be fine. EVERY other doctor/facility I researched schedules physical therapy after spine surgery, so it is very surprising someone at this level would not for me.

My main point for this is anyone talking about surgery, or that has surgery scheduled, please make sure you are getting the therapy you need after your surgery. I've been to two different physical therapy facilities on my own, and the second one specializes in Scoliosis treatment. They use what is called the Schroth Method, which is using exercises, stretches, and breathing techniques to help ease your pain.

Good luck, Elaine, I'm glad you are getting results from your surgery!

Hi I was 58 when I had surgery from L4 -S1. I didn't think twice about surgery at that point my scoliosis had got so bad. Before I had insurance problems. I wish I had been able to get it done earlier. There was pain after but I think the pain before was worse. I was in the hospital one week the inpatient rehab for a week. As soon as I went home I started PT. By the time I got home I was taking tramadol and oxy at night. And it was manageable. It's been almost 3 years and I take a Tylenol once in awhile. The pain before was constant nerve pain down both legs and progressively getting worse. After surgery first few days are bad but you get pain meds but the pain is less and less everyday. Now the only time I remember the surgery is when I try and bend to much. I had my surgery done in Houston. It' was worth the pain and recovery. Good luck

@elainep Hi I also had L4 - S1 done almost 3 years ago. I was 58. I was in the hospital a week and rehab for a week. I started PT when I went home. I took oxy at night to sleep. There was more pain before constant nerve pain down both legs. I couldn't stand up straight. I couldn't walk but 30 ft. Your doing great walking a few miles. Only regret is before surgery I lost a lot of weight my spine was twisted and couldn't eat. So I've gained back some LOL. I can live with that I happy I can walk again. Good luck.