Word: spined
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...Tietz, 19, a beautician in Cottage Grove, Minn. For nearly seven years, she could not bend her neck or back: her torso was held rigid from the chin to the pelvis by a cumbersome steel and leather brace. Debra was the victim of scoliosis, or abnormal curvature of the spine. The brace, which she was finally able to discard last year, not only straightened her back but may well have saved her life...
...vertical bars that attach at the top to a neck ring and throat mold. Early models -made of leather and steel, and quite heavy-have given way to lightweight aluminum-and-plastic versions that are still neither attractive nor comfortable. But they do work, redirecting the growth of the spine to help it to grow straight. "Shoe lifts and exercises alone are not proper treatment for progressive scoliosis," says Dr. David B. Levine of New York City's Hospital for Special Surgery and one of the country's leading authorities on the disease. "But in most cases...
Instant Growth. In more advanced cases, surgery is necessary. The most common operation for scoliosis was developed about ten years ago by Houston's Dr. Paul Harrington, and is now performed on about 80% of all patients requiring surgery. Doctors implant thin steel rods next to the spine, placing them over the bone and under the back muscles. The rods, which are attached to the vertebrae with metal hooks, are then tightened-much like a set of orthodontic braces-to force the spine to straighten. At the same time, the spine is fused to give it additional strength. Patients...
...technique can produce spectacular results. Wendy Clifford, 16, of Minneapolis, literally grew two inches on the operating table as doctors used a Harrington rod to straighten her crooked spine. "I'm glad I had it done," she says. "The doctors told me that by the time I was 30 I would have been completely crippled...
Scoliosis patients whose spines can be straightened by braces can usually live relatively normal lives even while under treatment. Those requiring surgical correction can recover quickly. Some come out of the operations with stronger spines than before. One of Levine's patients, a 15-year-old girl, was struck by a car 18 months after her operation. The accident produced multiple fractures of her arms, broke a thighbone and left her with a plethora of bruises. But the girl's spine remained intact...