Spine Program

Ahead of the Curve

The Spine Program at Stanford Children’s Health has a strong history of providing exceptional care to children in the Bay Area and beyond. By combing our extensive experience with emerging surgical and imaging technologies, we are able to treat patients with spinal disorders in a way that allows them to live their lives to the fullest now and later in adulthood.

Our program is led by an experienced team of orthopedic surgeons who are adept at delivering state-of-the-art care as well as approaching patients and their families with compassion and empathy. Our team continually strives to improve patient care and experience.

Diagnosis and Treatment

Radiographs
During diagnosis of spinal disorders, we are working hard to minimize the amount of radiation a patient receives. For example, we are investigating the use of surrogate physical exam measurements to track scoliotic curves in order to decrease the number of x-rays needed over a patient’s lifetime. Additionally, we have a low dose EOS machine which provides up to 9 times less radiation than a traditional x-ray and has the capability of three-dimensional imaging.

Non-operative Management
Non-surgical treatment is always considered first if possible. For patients with back pain, we work closely with our physical therapy colleagues to provide efficient and comprehensive care for our patients. A physical therapist is often in our office, available to provide an initial consultation while the physician is seeing your child. For patients with back pain, we often consult with our pain management colleagues as part of a multimodal approach to pain management, including acupuncture, yoga and other forms of Eastern medicine.

Bracing and Casting
In scoliosis, bracing or casting may be required to help prevent curve progression. We offer Mehta casting for early onset scoliosis and believe in a wide range of brace types, including Boston, Providence and Rigo-Cheneau braces. We can discuss all of these options with your family to discover which one will work best for your child.

Surgery
We appreciate that spinal surgery is a large undertaking for patients and families. If surgery is necessary, we will discuss all possible options in detail with you. We perform a variety of surgeries from well-established and proven techniques of spinal fusion to more cutting edge procedures such as growing rods using the MAGEC rod. Our entire hospital team is well versed in caring for families both pre and postoperatively and approaches patient care in a holistic manner.