Jan 2, 2008 2:00 pm US/Central
Scoliosis Surgical Procedure Developed In Dallas
DALLAS (CBS 11 News) ―
Thousands of children suffer from the spinal condition known as Scoliosis, which can be crippling if not taken care of.
Doctors at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children in Dallas developed a new spinal surgery to help correct the problem and a North Texas teenager was one of the first in the world to have it.
Six years ago, Jennifer Angarita was a budding teenager about to enter Hillcrest High School in Dallas. She loved to dance, and run track until she realized something wasn't right with her back.
"We were in the practice room one day, and I realized that one hip was larger than the other," says Jennifer.
Doctors at the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children diagnosed her with Scoliosis, a severe curvature of the spine. She spent the next four years in a brace, but the problem got worse.
"I have an "s" curve, it had progressed to about 50 degrees, which is medically significant," Jennifer explains.
The good news for the Texas teen was that doctors at Scottish Rite had just developed a new modified version of the old Scoliosis spinal surgery.
"The first step is to attach to the spine anchor points that then get attached to two rods," says Dr. Dan Sucato, one of the doctors at Scottish Rite who helped design the procedure. "They then correct the spine and hold it in that position until it fuses."
Doctor Sucato performed Jennifer's five-hour surgery and she began the six month recovery process. "That whole summer, I was pretty much bedridden," she says. "I had relearn how to walk."
Nearly three years later, Jennifer is a thriving college student in her sophomore year at Yale. She says she wouldn't be here today without the doctors at Scottish Rite. "I am so thankful for them. It's been a really amazing opportunity"
The surgical procedure developed in Dallas is now being performed all over the world to help other Scoliosis patients.
Last April, researchers at Scottish Rite discovered a specific gene that's linked to Scoliosis. They hope that discovery will lead to more treatments, and possibly even a cure.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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