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Through high school and into her adult years as an X-ray technologist and now 64-year-old grandmother, Jeanice Schwartz had no trouble with a condition she inherited at birth, scoliosis.
"It didn't really bother me until about five years ago," Schwartz says.
The condition caused her spine to curve like an "S". Over time, her spine had shifted 3 inches to the right.
The discomfort was severe enough--and her imbalanced posture had caused enough public stares--that something had to be done.
In 2004, based on a referral from the Burlington (Iowa) Orthopaedic Clinic, Schwartz sought specialized care from Sergio Mendoza, MD, an orthopaedic surgeon at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
Mendoza initially recommended against surgery, suggesting instead a more conservative approach involving exercise therapy.
"The surgery we perform, spinal osteotomy, is very demanding for the patient," Mendoza explains. "Sometimes, with a brace or other simple procedure, patients recover their quality of life to a level where they are satisfied. Some patients take years to decide. Those who choose surgery are usually desperate when every activity of their daily lives has been adversely affected."
While challenging, exercise therapy worked well, removing 80 percent of Schwartz's pain. Ultimately, the curvature worsened, as did the pain. By 2007, she was three a half inches shorter than she had been in high school.
The time had come to consider more dramatic measures.
"I was more than ready to take the next step," Schwartz says.
Mendoza--together with fellow orthopaedic surgeon Stuart Weinstein, MD-- specializes in correcting spinal curvature. During spinal osteotomy, a vertebra is cut to change the alignment of the spine. UI Hospitals and Clinics is one of few academic medical centers nationwide performing this complex and risky procedure.
Schwartz underwent two operations totaling 16 hours.
In the first, Mendoza and UI vascular surgeon Timothy Thomsen, MD, performed an inter-body fusion in which they meticulously carved out the discs from the spine and, restored height and alignment by implanting carbon fiber spacers called "cages" through the abdomen.
After a few days to recover and regain strength, Schwartz underwent a second procedure in the back of her spine. A wedge was cut into one of the vertebras (osteotomy), 24 pedicle screws were applied, and two titanium rods were inserted along the spine. This restored and maintained her spine's normal alignment.
Following a difficult recovery lasting several months, Schwartz returned to a normal life with husband Mark in West Point, Iowa. She stands straight. At 5 feet, 5 inches, she is an inch and a half taller than before the procedure.
Thoroughly grateful for a life-changing opportunity to beat her deformity, Schwartz says there isn't much holding her back.
"I'm doing just about everything I want to do," she says. "It really helps to have a good attitude, great family support, and of course excellent care!"
For more information about adult scoliosis and spinal osteotomies, patients and family members should call UI Orthopaedic scheduling at 319-356-7037, or UI Spine Center at 319-384-6025.
For consultation or referral, physicians should contact UI Consult.
--Michael Sondergard
"This is almost always a patient-driven decision. We never set a limit or a time frame to decide on an operation."
--Sergio Mendoza, MD |
