What you should know:
1. Sophia was diagnosed with scoliosis and curvature of the spine when she was 7.
2. Sophia’s condition worsened as she aged, and she wore a brace and underwent physical therapy before her family learned about VBT.
3. The surgical procedure avoids fusion by attaching screws to the vertebra on the curved side of the spine. A flexible cord is then attached to each screw and tightened to straighten the spinal cord.
“It tethers one side of the spine, [and] allows the other to keep growing until we get a straighter result,” Sophia’s surgeon, Jaren Riley, MD, said.
4. VBT is an experimental procedure and is not FDA-approved.
“Something told me that Dr. Riley would be able to do it successfully,” Sophia said.
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