What are the ways to reduce lower back pain and bulge due to the placement of a rod?

Question

Hello doctor,

I am a 23-year-old female and I had scoliosis. I wore braces for my spine for a while, but it did not really work and it started to affect my breathing. My parents and I took the decision for me to have surgery. The doctors made an incision on my back, two-three inches below my neck, all the way to my lower back. They then place a rod in my back. I instantly grew two-three inches. I had a fast recovery. However, since then, I have had a bulge on the right side of my back. I am not sure if it is my shoulder blade that had bulged out or if it is my rib cage that has twisted back. I have been dealing with that for about ten years now. As a growing young lady, it is affecting my self-esteem a lot. I cannot wear fitting clothes because the bulge shows. The right side of my lower back also hurts, but I am not sure if it is because of the bulge. I really want to have surgery to fix this.

Kindly help.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Thank you for your query.

This is more of a rib cage due to deviation of the spine. Cosmetic appearance is not the only way to a happy life, your spine does not look too bad to recommend you another surgery, and there is very little chance that it will worsen. If you can wear slightly loose clothes - it will not even be visible. What you can do is get new X-rays of the spine, and upload them so that I can see the implants (rods and screws) if they are still in situ.

I hope this has helped you. Thank you.