Possible Tethered Cord

Went to NS on Friday with 11 year old son. Was really comfortable with Dr. Glazier. Said Caleb has flowand no syrinx in the upper portion of spine, so no immediate need for surgery. How ever he did order MRI of the rest of spine to check for tethered cord, had that done yesterday. If he has a syrinx or tethered cord then surgery will be a definite. And you know Mama she just had to look at the CD herself. The dr said a low lying spinal cord is a sign of tethered cord, his cord went all the way to the tip. What can yall tell me about tethered cord. I was worred before, but I have bad feeling this time, but of course the Lord wil get us thru yet another big scary time. Any help appreciated!

[bigsissie]

I have a tethered cord and herniated disk in my low back. Tethered cord is cause from scar tissue from damage to the nerve. To correct this they scrape the scare tissue off. This allows the nerve to have movement that it did not before. I do not know how bad your sons condition is but I do know that the surgery can provide relief. The bad thing is that it is not permanent, scar tissue will build up again. I would ask the doctor if this could be a problem later on and require more surgeries. My neuro. suggested I wait because my back has so much damage already and that it may make some things worse in the long run. Best of luck to you and your son, God bless.

[selmaS]

Hi I also have TC and it can be from a cyst...not just scar tissue as bigsissie mentioned....and mine had the cyst, and having a sacral dimple....

Another tell tale sign is an elongated brain stem......

There r several diff surgeries being done for this...and one removes a section of bone and does not replace it, and  the other replaces the bone....from what I am hearing if u need the surgery, the one with the replaced bone may be the way to go...and yes, it is like chiari in that this is not a cure...and scar tissue can form and a need to have the scar tissue removed later on is a possibility.

  Ur best bet is to wait and see just what the NS is going to say, and then get a second opinion.....

    "selma"