Stanford Health Care's scoliosis and spinal deformity program in Palo Alto, Calif., has four pediatric spine surgeons, but features an all-women team twice a week that has been well-received by girls being treated at the center.
The program caters to all spine conditions, but most of its patients are diagnosed with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, commonly found in girls between 10 and 18.
The all-women spine team includes surgeons Meghan Imrie, MD, and Kali Tileston, MD, and CPNPs Caitlin Francis and Lauren Carter, who younger girls have found particularly helpful in guiding them through treatment and understanding their concerns from a female perspective.
"Scoliosis typically happens when girls are going through a lot of other bodily changes," Dr. Imrie said, according to the health system. "They may be self-conscious or scared, so some girls are more comfortable with a female doctor doing exams and answering questions."
"That's not to say my male colleagues are not sensitive, smart and kind. They definitely are. It's just nice to have that female-to-female connection."
On the clinical side, Dr. Tileston said what sets Stanford's spine program apart from others is its EOS imaging system, which she says is the only one in the greater Bay Area. The device can take full-body X-rays with 1/50th of the radiation of a typical X-ray.
"Children with scoliosis need frequent imaging to check for changes in their spine, so this matters," she said.
Stanford's scoliosis and spinal deformity program also creates spine braces on-site and offers a popular scoliosis physical therapy program known as the Schroth method.