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When she was three years old, Nashalys Estremera Lugo had trouble
walking. Her mother, Lizaira Lugo Vazquez, knew something was wrong.
 Three
years and six pediatricians later, they finally had a diagnosis:
juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. During the testing that followed,
physicians also realized that Nashalys suffers from scoliosis, or
curvature of the spine. “That is when we decided to leave Puerto
Rico and move to America,” says Lizaira, with the aid of a
translator.
Nashalys, who is 10 years old, was the first patient at The
Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida to undergo a new technique
called vertebral stapling to prevent the 35-degree curve in her
spine from worsening. The procedure took place in August. Lizaira
and Nashalys live in Lehigh Acres.
Vertebral stapling involves stapling the outside curve of the
spine
to prevent it from growing, with the hope that the inside curve will
continue to grow, and the spine will not get any worse and possibly
correct itself, says John Churchill, M.D., a pediatric orthopedic
surgeon who performed the operation.
Rodrigo Mon, M.D., a pediatric general surgeon, helped with the
thoracoscopic and abdominal portions of the operation. A team of
experts, including nurses, technicians and anesthesiologists, also
helped to make the procedure a success.
The vertebral staples are made out of Nitinol metal. “Nitinol
metal has a memory. The staples are in a C-shape when they are warm.
We put the staples in ice water to make them flexible and reshape
them into a V-shape. Once they are in the body and heat up, they
regain their C-shape and function as a staple on the spine,” Dr.
Churchill says.
Using Nitinol metal in surgical procedures is not new but using
them in scoliosis surgeries is, he says.
Vertebral stapling is more of a preventive than a corrective
measure, he also says. The procedure is best for patients who have
moderate curves in their spines—20 to 40 degrees—and cannot use a
spinal brace or have not had improvement with the brace.
This procedure can also help prevent the need for a spinal fusion
operation, which is a much more extensive surgical procedure for
those with severely curving spines, Dr. Churchill says. The results
of vertebral stapling are not as dramatic as a spinal fusion, but
you can see some improvement relatively quickly, he says. “Nashalys
showed pretty significant improvement after her surgery. We could
see a very noticeable difference,” he says.
Lizaira can also see a big difference in her daughter. Nashalys
suffers from a lot of pain. She cannot participate in many
activities that other children her age enjoy, and she has to be
arranged on multiple pillows at school to be comfortable. “Now, just
three days after the surgery, she has more confidence when she is
standing, and she feels more secure,” Lizaira said in August. “I
thought she would be scared, but the hospital staff helped her to
sit up the same day of the surgery!”
Drs. Churchill and Shannon, are the only pediatric orthopedic
surgeons in the area who perform scoliosis surgeries. They do about
one surgery each week. For more information about their practice,
Pediatric Orthopedics of Southwest Florida, visit
www.pedsortho.net.
John A. Churchill, M.D.
F. Brett Shannon, D.O.
Pediatric Orthopedics of
Southwest Florida
15880 Summerlin Road
Fort Myers, FL 33908
239-432-5100
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