繁體中文Chang is a talkative kid who is always happy to share his life with us whenever he comes back for a follow-up appointment. I remember that I first saw him in 2017 when he was still a 13-year-old boy, but his scoliosis had already reached 42 degrees and his appearance was already distorted obviously. As his risser was still zero at the time, the progression risk was extremely high.
During the first examination, he was found to have spots on his skin. And, I heard from her mother that it was hereditary. After understanding, there was a high risk of neurofibromatosis. The skeletal development of neurofibromatosis patient is likely to be abnormal and will exacerbate the scoliosis. He was prescribed a cheneau brace immediately and reminded of the risk of deterioration and the need to work together to improve the curvature.
After a period of treatment, there was a noticeable improvement in the curvature and appearance. Everyone was encouraged and satisfied with the results. However, good times don’t last long and what we had feared all along finally happened. At the peak of his growth, his height increased dramatically and so did his curvature, to 67 degrees in just 3 months, so he was given a new brace to match his growth rate.
However, six months after changing the new brace, the treatment effects were not satisfactory and it was found that the material of the brace could not withstand the prominences of his ribs and started to deform and his curvature worsened to 84 degrees. He was advised to switch to a more rigid ART brace to improve the treatment effect and to better suit his stiffened spine.
The ART brace has a traction effect on the body, making it easier to open up the concave side of the curvature in patients with larger curves and stiffer spines. After wearing the ART brace for a period of time, Cheong’s appearance and curvature were now under control and subsequently improved, and his smile was finally back on this optimistic boy’s face.
