Janet
My daughter was 10 y.o. when she had her spinal fusion. She was born with a hemi-vertrabrae (wedge shaped) and developed scoliosis. The operation was a success. She had a Harrington Rod from cervical to lumbar to hold her spine which was later removed. This operation was extremely painful for her. Thank goodness we had a pool and she was able to swim in it with her brace. She had a wonderful surgeon on LI, Dr. Spira. Unfortunately, my daughter and I were involved in a head-on collision and she sustained injuries to her spinal column both above and below the fusion leading to more operations. She finally said "no more" after the 3rd operation and lives in constant pain b/c she refuses to have one last operation. Quite frankly I don't blame her, as she will lose some of her mobility and would be fused from the T9 to her sacrum. If you are nervous, seek a 2nd opinion and ask to speak to other patients that these doctors have operated on. I did a lot of research before I let them operate on her. Also, make sure you find out who will be assisting these doctors when they operate. I had no idea that another surgeon would be working with this doctor and found out only when the bills began to arrive. Luckily, his assistant was as competent as he was and had a better bedside manner too. I guess we really lucked out when we found Dr. Spira, and I would highly recommend him. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. I can understand your concern in wanting to do what's best for your child. Your child is very lucky to have you. Take Care and hope to hear from you soon.