Exceptional Teen Helps Others After Spinal Fusion Surgery for Scoliosis

When Lauren Leverty, now age 16, went through spinal fusion surgery more than a year ago, she was scared. It was a big decision, and she wished she could talk with other kids who had gone through it. Today, she is making that wish a reality for other teens facing spinal surgery at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health.

“After surgery, she reached out and asked to be a resource for other teens in our program. That really speaks to the kind of person she is,” says Lauren Roos, a pediatric nurse practitioner and spine specialist at Stanford Children’s.

Lauren made a flyer sharing her story and contact information for the scoliosis team to hand out to other patients facing surgery. So far, she has talked to a few kids, sharing her perspective as a teen who had spinal fusion.

“She faced a difficult situation and came out stronger on the other side, and instead of moving on, she stopped to ask how she could make it easier for others. That’s admirable,” says her orthopedic surgeon, James Policy, MD.

Learning she had scoliosis

When Lauren was 11 years old, her pediatrician noticed a curvature in her spine at a well-child check. Her mom, Jacey, asked for an x-ray. What they found was surprising: The curve was progressing so quickly that her pediatrician thought it might be a tumor.

“We love living in Reno, but at the time, there was no pediatric orthopedic surgeon in town, so that’s when we sought a second opinion at Stanford Children’s,” Jacey says.

Scoliosis is when the spine curves from side to side, resembling an S or a C rather than a straight line. It is most common in girls and is usually diagnosed between ages 10 to 16.

Getting scoliosis treatment at Stanford Children’s

The Pediatric Spine Center at Stanford Children’s takes a multidisciplinary approach to treating scoliosis and serves as a one-stop shop for scoliosis treatment. When Jacey was researching care options, she was put at ease by reading Dr. Policy’s online profile. “His quote says, ‘I treat each child as if they were one of my own,’ and that really stuck with me. It spoke to his empathy, and he showed that through and through during her care,” she says.

“It’s pretty common for us to give second opinions on scoliosis,” Dr. Policy says. “Only large urban centers treat spinal deformities on a regular basis, so having people come from far away is not unusual.”

First, doctors considered more conservative treatments for Lauren, including specialized physical therapy, bracing, and casting. They chose bracing.

“We liked that Stanford Children’s had an orthotist on site who makes custom braces, and we also appreciated the low-dose x-rays,” says Patrick Leverty, Lauren’s dad. The EOS low-dose imaging system exposes children to 1/50 of the radiation of a typical spinal x-ray, and Stanford Children’s is the only pediatric health system in the Bay Area to offer it.

Lauren wore a brace for three years. “I didn’t like wearing a brace. I wore it half as much as they wanted, because I wouldn’t wear it to school, and I was swimming two hours a day,” she says.

It wasn’t the right solution for Lauren’s scoliosis. She loved to be active, and the brace was getting in the way of her high-energy life of running cross-country and track, hiking, and skiing.

Deciding on spinal fusion surgery for scoliosis

Lauren’s scoliosis was progressing, and her doctors told her and her family that it was time to consider spinal surgery. She was 14 years old.

“Lauren didn’t want surgery. She ran out of the room when she heard. It was a very low moment for our family,” Jacey says.

Stanford Children’s offers a variety of innovative and advanced spinal surgeries for scoliosis, including spinal fusion, which uses rods, screws, and bone grafts to correct the curvature. Doctors determined that spinal fusion would give Lauren the best results.

“Lauren was admittedly nervous about the surgery, and we had several visits to discuss it. She asked good questions and tried to gain all the knowledge she could; she was a good advocate for herself,” Roos says.

Spinal fusion surgery can be an option for kids with moderate to severe scoliosis who don’t respond well to bracing. Patients who undergo spinal fusion have to spend several days in the hospital, and the idea of such a big surgery can be intimidating for teens who are not necessarily in pain. For Lauren, it was a hard decision to make.

“My patients are living their best teenage life, and the idea of surgery can be a shock,” Dr. Policy says.

Even though it can seem daunting, spinal fusion often means a better quality of life in the long run.

Stanford Children’s uses the latest surgical technology, including minimally invasive methods, interoperative imaging, and neuro-navigation. Neuro-navigation uses 3-D coordination and imaging to direct a surgeon’s movements during surgery. “It’s similar to a car navigation system in that it shows us bony anatomy and reads points of reference, letting us know within a millimeter or two where to safely place implants,” Dr. Policy says.

In the end, Lauren decided to have the spinal surgery, and it went well. She returned to school two weeks after discharge.

Back to being an active teen

Lauren wanted to recover as quickly as possible, so when she got home, she set her mind on getting back to running. She met daily goals to walk, going a little farther each day. Before she knew it, she was running.

“I never thought I would run again, and now I think I’m a better runner after surgery,” Lauren says. “The surgery helped me breathe easier.” Her scoliosis was affecting her lungs, and now that it’s corrected, she’s noticing the change.

Lauren is fully back to running cross-country and track as a junior in high school, something she hopes to continue in college. She’s fast, running the mile in 5:42. Recently, she celebrated her 16th birthday by running a half-marathon with her dad.

“It’s our expectation going into surgery to get patients back to their pre-surgery performance, so it’s great to see Lauren back to doing the things she loves,” Dr. Policy says.

Despite her busy life, Lauren is finding time to help other kids understand what it’s like to have spinal fusion surgery. “She’s exceptional in everything she does,” Jacey says. “She not only wanted to recover, she also wants to help others recover.”