MRI Ortho Results

On Tuesday I took Caden to Shriner's for the follow-up appointment after his MRI. I had no idea what to expect so I just waited to hear what they would have to say.

Once we were in the exam room, the first person to come in was a pediatrician. She introduced herself and asked me a bunch of medical history questions and as I answered them, she seemed very impressed at my knowledge and understanding of Caden's medical issues. I told her that was my job; to know everything about him and his medical concerns. She even made sure I got to see the actual MRI images so they could describe to me what they saw because she could tell by my detailed medical history of Caden that it would be something I would be interested in. I that that was really thoughtful of her, and she's right. It is something I wanted to see!

She went on to tell me that the MRI showed no hip dysplasia. This was great news because the x-rays we had taken a few weeks ago showed “borderline” hip dysplasia. I tried not to get too caught up in what that could mean if he had it. But I didn't realize how much it stressed me out until I heard her tell me they were fine. I could feel a huge weight lifted off my shoulders!

She also told me that she was happy to be the bearer of other good news: the brain also looked great. Now, we still have to have a follow-up appointment with Caden's neurologist to get the official detailed report from him. But it was very nice and reassuring to get that little bit of information.

Then, she said she needed to go get the orthopedic doctor so they could go over the results of the MRI of the spine with me. When she left the room, I figured it meant that there was probably bad news and she didn't want to be the one to tell me since she had already shared with me the good news on the other two areas. So when the orthopod came in the room and told me things looked great, I was surprised.

There were a few things to note. His neck looked good. There was some concern about it because he appears to have a very short neck and/or very low hairline. So they didn't know if there was something going on there to be concerned about but after the MRI, he said things were fine.

The T11 vertebrae has a slight defect (they call it a “butterfly”), but again, it isn't causing any other issues that they can tell. But the new thing they found is that his tailbone is malformed. I think there are 3 or 4 vertebrae that don't have discs between them. And, the whole tailbone is curved at a strange angle. But apparently this shouldn't be a problem for him. And the good news is that the spinal column itself looks great and there is no impingement anywhere.

Based on all that information, at this point, he said he doesn't think Caden will need to have surgery to correct the scoliosis. That is great news! Because if he did need surgery, they would do it between the ages of 3-5. But it doesn't appear that will be necessary. So for now, we will follow up with them once/year and they will see how he is progressing.

I am so thrilled with the results of the MRI. I couldn't have asked for much better news. It truly was better than I expected. :) I am praising God for the good report.