I would recommend seeing a neurosurgeon or orthopedic surgeon, who has completed spine fellowship and specializes in minimally invasive spine surgery. Click Read More to learn about treatment options. Good Luck!
It is possible for rods and screws to break, but I have never heard of breakage causing a pedicle screw to be pushed (or screwed) through the vertebral body into the great vessels (vena cava, aorta, etc.) or intestines. The screws are much more likely to be pulled out of the spine then push through the spine. The screws can break inside of the vertebral body. I hope this helps answer your questions. Good Luck!
Scoliosis in infants may occur when there spine was not formed correctly. This most commonly happens when one side of the side grows while the other side does not. This can happen in a condition called HEMIVERTEBRAE when one side of the spine does not exist or UNILATERAL BAR when multiple vertebrae are fused together on one side. In both cases the normal side grows while the abnormal side does not (or grows less) forming a curve. I hope this information helps. Good Luck!
If you have intermittent back pain you could start with either. If you have other symptoms such as constant, worsening back pain, leg pain, numbness, tingling, bowel and bladder problems, weight loss, fevers, chills, night sweats, significant back injury or history of cancer, then you should start with primary care doctor, pain doctor or spine surgeon. If you do not get relief from the chiropractor then I would recommend seeing a medical doctor, preferably spine specialist.
Spine surgery done through an inch or smaller incision is called minimally invasive surgery. This may be done by a neurosurgeon who specializes in minimally invasive surgery. The procedure involves placing sequentially larger tubes in the back to dilate and separate the skin, muscle and soft tissues to get access to the spine. Click to Read More on treatment options. Good Luck!
The traditional treatment was an open laminectomy. Unfortunately this causes significant muscle and bone damage and may lead to a weak back, worse back pain and instability (the back falling apart), never mind the significant scar tissue. Today there are new minimally invasive options for spinal stenosis including minimally invasive tubular decompression (METRx) , X-Stop, spinal clamp and MILD procedure. There will soon be new endoscopic decompression procedures developed for spinal stenosis. Good Luck!
If scoliosis is severe it can affect your heart, lungs, gut, spinal cord and nerves producing a large range of problems from difficulty breathing to difficulty walking. Fortunately this is not common. Many cases of scoliosis respond to conservative treatment (such as bracing) and do not require surgery. Please see my blog posting Does scoliosis cause pain? For more information please contact Dr. Carl Spivak at Executive Spine Surgery. Good Luck!
I do not have any experience with CLEAR treatment. From the internet it appears to be a chiropractic treatment that strengthens spinal weakness to restore normal shape of the spine. This may be difficult if there is fixed solid deformity. I would ask for references. Good Luck!
I would recommend seeing your primary care doctor to orchestrate the workup and treatment of your pain. You may require anti-inflammatory medicine, physical therapy, chiropractic manipulation and MRI scan of the spine . Depending on the results of these tests and treatment you may need to see an interventional pain doctor or spine surgeon to determine the benefit of steroid injections or spine surgery. Today many spine surgeries can be done minimally invasively through a spinal endoscope decreasing tissue damage, pain and recovery time from surgery. Please contact us for more information. Good Luck!