A spine surgeon at Sanford Health Fargo (N.D.) corrected an 86-degree curve in a 13-year-old patient, the health system said April 15.
Mohammed Waseemuddin, MD, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon, treated C’aira Davis, who was brought in after her mother noticed a change in the girl's posture, according to a news release.
"C'aira was one of those bad scoliosis cases where, when she saw me, she had a scoliosis measuring 86 degrees," Dr. Waseemuddin said. "That was a very significant scoliosis that she had. But it's not like you get up just one day and you have an 80-degree curve in your back. In C'aira's case, she had a growth spurt, and then the curve which she might have already had just got to 86 degrees."
The severity of her scoliosis was affecting her lung capacity. Dr. Waseemuddin corrected her spine with a combination of fusion and screw placement. Now, her spine is at a 20-degree curve, according to the report.