How to
Navigate Scoliosis

My goal was to personally interview the world’s top scoliosis surgeons, brace experts and scoliosis specific rehab practitioners in the hopes of getting the most accurate information possible.  Initially, access was difficult to gain but it helps to be persistent and there has been a surprising amount of momentum over the past 2 months.  One thing led to another and over the past 2 months I have interviewed 10 of the world’s leading pediatric orthopaedic spine surgeons, 2 spine bracing orthotists and a scoliosis specific physiotherapist.  More interviews are are always incoming as this has become a life long passion.  

Both navigating my son’s scoliosis journey and interviewing top scoliosis experts has vastly increased my knowledge of how scoliosis starts, snowballs into severe curves and the conservative and surgical (fusion and non-fusion) options available to patients.  Some non-fusion options may not be available to girls by 12-13 and boys by 15-16 years of age as they are growth dependent.

The internet is full of information and misinformation.  My goal in doing these interviews was to deliver clear information directly from top experts to parents and patients so they can make more informed decisions.

Simply put, I wanted to share that knowledge with anyone who might benefit.  Please forward this to anyone who might be interested.

Unfortunately, these interviews didn’t get picked up on Netflix, but you can definitely binge these videos.  The video interviews are posted on scoliosis forums and Facebook groups around the world.  As my patient, you can access these videos or forward this email to someone else.  You can also view these videos on youtube.

 

 

 

 

 

Spine Surgeons:

• Dr. Ahmet Alanay – Spine surgeon, Professor of Orthopaedics and Traumatology Paediatric and Adult Spinal Disorders, Istanbul, Turkey https://youtu.be/I3p3eGjLJxw

• Dr. Bob Cho – Spine surgeon, Chief of Staff, Shriners For Children Medical Center, San Diego, USA  https://youtu.be/mn9SGI68X48

• Dr. Amer Samdani –  Neurosurgeon, Spine surgeon, Chief of Surgery, Shriners Hospital For Children, Philadelphia, USA  https://youtu.be/LyO3wmDWALA

• Dr. Juan Carlos Rodriguez-Olaverri – Spine surgeon, Director of Early Onset Scoliosis, NYU Langone Health, New York, USA  https://youtu.be/sZYwGi-_I_E

• Dr. Firoz Miyanji – Spine surgeon, Department of Orthopaedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, BC Children’s Hospital, Canada https://youtu.be/NsIQGqoYZ_g

• Dr. Peter Newton – Spine Surgeon, Chief of Orthopedic Surgery, Rady Children’s Hospital, San Diego, USA  https://youtu.be/gkTzJHdUdzw

• Dr. Laurel Blakemore – Spine Surgeon, Pediatric Specialists of Virginia, USA https://youtu.be/Ikvro_B7eXY

• Dr. Tony Herring – Spine Surgeon, Chief of Staff Emeritus, Texas Scottish Rite Hospital, USA  https://youtu.be/SZqugjYl2xw

• Dr. Baron Lonner – Spine surgeon, Chief of Minimally Invasive Scoliosis Surgery, Mount Sinai Hospital, NYC, USA  https://youtu.be/oHAONBlGOB4

• Dr. Randal Betz – Institute for Spine and Scoliosis, New Jersey, USA  https://youtu.be/L0oVV3aG93Q

• Dr. Jason Bernard – Spine Surgeon, St. George’s Hospital, London, UK  https://youtu.be/RSB_3wG0I2w

• Dr. Kevin Smit – Spine Surgeon, CHEO, Ottawa, Canada https://youtu.be/qkmh2hlOaKQ

• Dr. Yizhar Floman – Spine Surgeon, ApiFix, Tel Aviv, Israel  https://youtu.be/bN8ZliRgLEQ

• Dr. Moyo Kruyt – Spine Surgeon, UMC Utrecht, Netherlands  https://youtu.be/d4uMy1SuRxU

• Dr. Ron El-Hawary – Spine Surgeon, Nova Scotia, Canada  https://youtu.be/XpZr_4uhFk0

• Dr. Noelle Larson – Spine Surgeon, Mayo Clinic, Minnesota, USA  https://youtu.be/sJ1qrg1vS5o

• Dr. Per Trobisch – Spine surgeon, Chefarzt Spine Center Simmerath & Frankfurt, Germany  https://youtu.be/pImaCIJ1wKo

• Dr. Daniel Hoernschemeyer – Missouri Orthopedic Institute & Women’s & Children’s Hospital, Columbia, Missouri, USA https://youtu.be/0W-TJVDkaaw
  Dr. Darryl Antonacci – Spine Surgeon, Institute for Spine and Scoliosis, New Jersey, USA https://youtu.be/o6Ijiya4fmE

• Dr. Laury Cuddihy – Spine Surgeon, Institute for Spine and Scoliosis, New Jersey, USA https://youtu.be/QuqMtbtC77I

• Dr. John Braun – Spine Surgeon, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA https://youtu.be/rzsv1fTmCtY 

• Dr. Ryan Goodwin – Spine Surgeon, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA  https://youtu.be/148m_5YSZHs

• Dr. Michelle Welborn – Spine Surgeon, Shriners Hospital for Children, Portland, USA https://youtu.be/GP_9Mw-8Mak

• Dr. Joshua Pahys and Dr. Steven Hwang, Spine Surgeon and Neurologist, Shriners Hospital for Children, Philadelphia, USA  https://youtu.be/1WhMQ0UrPPw

• Dr. Sajan Hegde, Spine Surgeon, Chennai, India  https://youtu.be/WhEuak4F4gw

Orthotists:

• Dr. Manuel Rigo – Rigo Cheneau Brace/Schroth, Barcelona, Spain  https://youtu.be/Pv5mRNQl21E

• Luke Stikeleather – Orthotist/Bracing, National Scoliosis Centers, Virginia, USA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRqFhgn1T8I 

• Piotr Duma – Orthotist/Bracing, Shriners Hospital for Children, Montreal, Canada https://youtu.be/6JTrptHDZ5s

Physiotherapist:

• Andrea Lebel – Physiotherapist specializing in scoliosis, Ottawa, Canada https://youtu.be/DSBdNqgWYkQ

Scoliosis Research:

• Dr. Carl-Eric Aubin – PhD, University of Montreal, Canada  https://youtu.be/xzK9qFMSA-E

• Dr. Michelle Welborn – Spine Surgeon, Shriners Hospital for Children, Portland, USA https://youtu.be/GP_9Mw-8Mak

YouTube Playlists:

• Scoliosis Spine Surgeons Interviews  https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfyUArn76Mvg6Z4Tvt3L9xnM3ZPsrGV3J

• Scoliosis Bracing and Orthotists  https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfyUArn76MviAzFZIXu5Nm6_taLjFBV9t

• Scoliosis Researchers  https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfyUArn76Mvgb8lOT2Vl9jvmkU8YedG1Z

• Scoliosis Specific Physiotherapy Exercises https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfyUArn76Mvi1yqoyEvJIEkMNf7OTG5eB

How to use these videos?  Click on the button below for my Scoliosis SELF-NAVigating Guide.

 

 

 

Enjoy and get educated!

​

Dr. Derek Lee