School girl with the 'worst spinal curvature' doctors had ever seen can do the splits again after 11-hour operation

Emily Crosby, 13, had one of the worst cases of scoliosis doctors had seen

Her lungs were being crushed by her ribs and risked being punctured

Had an 11-hour operation in which a titanium rod was fitted to her spine

A teenage girl is celebrating after undergoing an 11-hour operation to correct a snake-like double curve in her spine.

Emily Crosby's spine curved at a 90 degree angle at the top before twisting 50 degrees in the opposite direction further down - sticking out like a ‘shark's fin’ when she bent forward.

The 13-year-old's dance teacher initially spotted that her back was misaligned in January last year. Her mother Jackie took Emily to a walk-in clinic who referred them to the James Cook Hospital.

Here doctors diagnosed her with one of the worst cases of scoliosis - or curvature of the spine - they had ever seen. 

Emily trains with her local dance academy 

 

efore her operation, Emily's spine had a double curve (left). She underwent an 11 hour operation to fit a titanium rod to her spine (right)

It was so curved that her lungs became crammed in between her ribs and if doctors hadn't discovered the condition, the teenager's lungs could have been punctured. The schoolgirl underwent surgery in June to have a titanium rod inserted into her back to straighten the bones.

Emily’s mother, Jackie, 45, said: ‘She went down to surgery at 7am and she didn't get back until 7.45pm.
‘I am in awe of them and I can't praise them enough.

At one point during the extensive operation, surgeons were forced to stop after a machine monitoring Emily's progress delivered a reading of paralysis - but thankfully it was a false alarm.
The mother-of-three from Seaton Carew, near Hartlepool, Cleveland, said:  ‘They had to pick me off the floor when they told me.

‘It was awful. We thought the doctor was showing us an X-ray of the worst case scenario but it was actually my daughter's spine on the screen. 



Before the operation (left) Emily's ribs were crushing her lungs. Now (right) she has recovered sufficiently to take part in a netball tournament in Italy

We thought we were just going in for an initial check but the doctor had already booked the operation in.

‘I cried a lot. Emily is very fit and active so we never knew anything was wrong, she never felt any pain.

‘But when we got to the hospital and the doctor asked her to bend forward I just couldn't believe what I was seeing.

Emily Crosby (right, pictured with her mother, left) underwent an 11 hour operation to straighten her spine

‘Her spine was sticking out like a shark's fin. I was so nervous when she went into theatre.

‘It sounds awful to say, but one slip of the knife and she's paralysed. That's all it takes.’

But just days after the operation last June, Emily was recovering well and was even doing the splits two weeks later.

Emily is now back to full fitness and is taking part in a netball tournament in Italy at the end of the month.

She has just finished a stint performing in a pantomime and also trains with the Seaton Academy of Dance.

Mrs Crosby, who is also mother to Alex, 11, and Jack, nine, said: ‘We are so proud of her. She is so positive.’

She added: ‘Even though her operation was serious, she was determined to show other children with the same condition that you can still be active and enjoy life.’

Mrs Crosby is so proud of her daughter she has nominated her for a Pride of Hartlepool award.

She said: ‘She has made a tremendous recovery and is an inspiration to her family and friends. She has so much determination.’


Source : DailyMail ( 28th Feb 2013 )