When the Spine Curves: Treatments for Scoliosis

Present Knowledge of Scoliosis

The Experience of an Adolescent with Scoliosis

In 1976, I was 14 and a freshman in high school when I underwent my first spinal fusion for scoliosis. My scoliosis was in the lumbar area and required five vertebrae to be fused. With my fusion so low on the spine, I had to be kept immobile for several months afterward. I was in a body cast from my neck to my knees (this was called a pantaloon cast) for three months, and completely bed ridden. It was when the cast was removed that I was fitted for the Milwaukee Brace. This was done by "suspending" me from a harness (so my spine would bear no weight.) The bottom of the brace is called a "bucket" and was made from my body form. The brace took several days to make; once I had it on, I was able to get up and walk. I wore this brace for about nine months, day and night.

When I was able to wear the brace and walk again, I was "weaned" back into walking and sitting. I was able to sit for only fifteen minutes, three times a day, for meals. This went on for a couple of weeks, then gradually I was able to increase my sitting time. Within three months I was able to go back to school in September for my sophomore year of high school. I wore this brace until further surgery was needed the following year.

The foam pieces you see attached to the bucket were to help straighten the curve. They were used to push the spine into alignment. My left leg is a little shorter than my right, so they needed this extra "push" to help with the fusion and the curve correction.

Before my surgeries, I wore a cast from my neck to my hips. After the surgeries, the front part of the cast was discarded, and I was put into the back of the cast. It was called a "shell." I would be bound into this until the pantaloon was put on 10-14 days later. Then I was put into the braces.

Things have changed since then; the Milwaukee brace has not been used in a very long time. I think of myself as a pioneering patient. Many things have changed, but the objective is the same: to give us all a normal, healthy life.

Because of my surgeries, I have two beautiful children. Without my surgeries, I would have been in a wheelchair years ago and not have been able to have these great kids. This brace holds a special place in my life and in my heart. That is the reason I have kept it all these years, and now it is the reason for me to donate it for others to see. It is a part of history. Something that has not been made or used in many years, something to now share with others.

-Kelly Stangl Kreft