“It’s my passion,” she said.
So, when she learned she would need major back surgery to correct her scoliosis, she only had one thing on her mind. “I was worried about getting back to volleyball,” said Kaylah. “I was wondering, ‘would I ever get to do that again?’”
Kaylah’s Diagnosis and Treatment Plan
Kaylah received a diagnosis of scoliosis during a routine doctor’s exam while in elementary school. The timing of her diagnosis is very common between the ages of 10 and 18. It’s often discovered during puberty, when children are at the highest risk for progression of the curve because their growth rate is fastest during those years. Like many other kids with the same diagnosis, surgery was not the next step. Depending on the amount of curvature, a physician may recommend several other treatment options first.
Treatment options can include monitoring the curve, bracing and physical therapy, or surgery. Treatment decisions are based on the potential for progression, which depends on three things:
- Skeletal maturity (age)
- Curve magnitude
- Location of the curve
Given the status of Kaylah’s curved spine, her family and their medical team at the time recommended physical therapy and to keep monitoring her progress. After several years, the curve showed a dramatic increase. “At that point I was in pain all the time. I didn’t know how not to have pain,” said Kaylah.
Their pediatrician then referred Kaylah and her family to Dr. Timothy Borden, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon affiliated with Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital.
A solution for a spine curve
Dr. Borden and the pediatric orthopedic team affiliated with Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital specialize in pediatric scoliosis care. “When we approach patients with these spine conditions, our goal is to come up with a very thoughtful, individualized treatment plan that gets them back to doing the things they want to do,” said Dr. Borden. “I think Kaylah and her family really felt supported, that we were available to take what is a very scary and nervous time and walk them through that.”
Dr. Borden confirmed Kaylah, 13 years old at the time, would need a spinal fusion to correct the 57 degree curve in her spine. Most scoliosis patients have two to three curves in their spine. Kaylah had three. “The goal is to do the smallest correction to get the best outcome,” said Dr. Borden. “We use the rods and screws to fix the largest curvature, and the others spontaneously correct. It allows the patient to maintain more mobility.”
Dr. Borden utilized intraoperative CT navigation, which generated a 3D representation of Kaylah’s spine structure. This real-time technology enables the orthopedic surgeons to navigate instruments with a precision-enhancing navigation system for accurate screw placement by relying on minute reference points on the spine. Once the screws are placed, they act as anchors for rods to help correct the spine’s curvature. Dr. Borden says the surgery can take, on average, around four to five hours.
“The most important thing is an excellent outcome,” said Dr. Borden.
Kaylah had the surgery at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital in January of 2023. “For my wife and I, that was one of the toughest events of our lives. We had to put our faith in Dr. Borden and the Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital team,” said Nathan. “Thankfully, we were getting updates from the nurse in the operating room and that helped keep us more at ease during the whole process.”
A team approach to recovery
Kaylah says she felt fully supported throughout the experience. “I loved the nurses. They were there when I needed motivation,” Kaylah said. “They brought me to spend time with Dexter. It was all very positive.”
Most scoliosis patients begin walking in the hospital the same day or the next day. Many leave the hospital within two to three days. “We have an excellent enhanced recovery pathway,” said Dr. Borden. “We use a multi-modal pain regimen that maximizes the different types of medications, while minimizing the need for opioid medication. That lowers the patient’s pain, so they can get back on their feet and out of the hospital in just a few days.”
Kaylah did not need any additional physical therapy. “Because recovery and rehab starts on day one, not every child will need formal physical therapy,” said Dr. Borden. “My active patients are so eager to get back into sports, they often don’t need it. It depends on the child.”
Bump it, set it, spike it – Back to volleyball
Within a few months, Kayla was pain-free and back on the volleyball court. “I was a little nervous about how I would play. But honestly, I play better now. Dr. Borden told me I could go full speed, and I have no problems jumping, no problems diving for the ball,” said Kaylah.
“I would say that the process was flawless for Kaylah. I tell people we had a perfect outcome in a very complex and intense situation,” said Nathan.
Kaylah tells her story so that other teens her age won’t feel alone. “When I visited Dr. Borden for a checkup after surgery, there was another girl who was going to have a similar surgery to me,” Kaylah remembered “I talked with her to let her know how things would go. It makes you feel more confident seeing other people who’ve gone through this first.”
“Kaylah is an exceptional kid who was really strong and brave in a potentially scary situation,” said Dr. Borden. “We want to show kids their scoliosis diagnosis is not a debilitating procedure. I have full expectation that my patients will get back to a full rich life, even if they have to go through a major surgery, like spinal surgery.”
Kaylah recently made the varsity volleyball team for her high school. “I would tell other people in the same situation to take a positive mindset and get people around you to push you. You want to keep a mindset of, ‘I will get better.’ I would tell them their future is brighter on the other side.”
Learn more information about scoliosis care at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital »