Stapling – A New Scoliosis Fix (written by Biloine Young @ OTW)
A four-year-old California girl, named Grace, is romping about much like any other child her age, thanks to pioneering surgery by University of California-San Francisco orthopedic surgeon Dr. Mohammad Diab. Grace has severe scoliosis and instead of proscribing a heavy torso-covering plastic brace that she would have to wear for 20 hours a day, Diab stapled together several vertebrae in her spine.
As reported in the San Francisco Chronicle, while stapling is a temporary fix, it saves the girl from years of wearing a brace. Also, it is hoped that the stapling will correct the curve and prevent it from getting worse.
Spinal stapling, a surgery designed at a children's hospital in Philadelphia, is considered both experimental and controversial among scoliosis experts. Some doctors see it as an alternative to the standard treatments, which can be difficult to endure and aren't always successful.
"I don't want people lining up for this,” said Diab. “I'm inherently cautious, and it's not for everyone. But I want people to pay attention, because there may be alternatives" to the traditional treatments.
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