Patient Case Studies - Spine Surgery

Spine Deformity

“I just wanted to have less pain,” declares Alison Voisey, a 22-year-old sufferer of scoliosis who found her way to Courtney Brown, MD, by way of a temporary agency.

“When I moved here from Ohio, I was placed with Panorama Orthopedics. I heard that Dr. Brown took special interest in scoliosis patients so I decided to seek his advice for my back problem. I thought, ‘God must have put me here in this office for a reason.’

Voisey’s history of scoliosis dates back to the seventh grade when the pain began. At 18, a physician told her that scoliosis shouldn’t cause pain and that surgery was not a good option because they would have to operate from the front. Happily she found out later that “he was all wrong about it.”

Voisey had great confidence in Dr. Brown, not only because of his credentials and past presidency of the Scoliosis Research Society, but because she heard great reviews about him from patients, many of whom would travel from all over the country and endure long waiting lists to see him. Dr. Brown confirmed the diagnosis of scoliosis and presented the X-rays to the spine committee in his practice to discuss the case and possible surgical options.

“Truthfully, I did not want to know too much about it because back surgery is a big procedure and would be rough,” Voisey explains. “But Dr. Brown explained the instrumentation and procedure and that he would put rods and screws in my spine to correct some of the curvature.”

With guidance from the StealthStation^® TREON^® Treatment Guidance System, Dr. Brown did an anterior thoracic thorascopic release and posterior fusion to correct Voisey’s scoliosis. The pain Voisey was experiencing was caused by arthritis. The surgery lasted 11 hours in total and Voisey was in the hospital for a week. Dr. Brown was able to correct Voisey’s scoliosis from 60 degrees and 61 73 and 67 degrees down to 24 and 19 27 and 20 degrees. After a difficult first month of recovery, Voisey got her strength back and was out of the brace in a record two months. “My pain was greatly reduced and I can reach things in higher places,” exudes Voisey, “as I am now one and a half inches taller!”

NOTE: The experiences described here are specific to this particular patient. Results vary and every response is not the same. Patients should always talk with their doctors to see if they may benefit from this therapy and for a full review of indications and side effects.