In a nutshell
At the Katy campus, health care staff can now treat infant and youth patients who have varying levels of scoliosis and spinal issues, from neuromuscular disorders to other complex issues, with its Scoliosis and Spinal Deformity Program, said Dr. Margaret Baldwin, a pediatric orthopedics surgeon at Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus.
What happened
Danivea Blackmon, Mock’s mother, said her daughter was diagnosed with scoliosis in summer 2023, but it wasn't causing Mock any pain. However, when her daughter returned for a checkup in summer 2024 with some discomfort, Texas Children’s doctors discovered her spinal curvature had progressed to a point requiring surgery.
“I have scoliosis as well as my mother, but neither one of us was to the point where we needed bracing or surgery from it,” Blackmon said. “So [I was] not surprised, but [I] had no idea that it would progress as much as it did. That was completely unexpected.”
Mock underwent the surgery on Nov. 26 and left the hospital three days later, Blackmon said. Mock, who enjoys learning choreography from social media, is improving at home and is expected to soon return to school and dancing.
By the numbers
Young girls are eight times more likely to have idiopathic scoliosis—meaning scoliosis from unknown causes—compared to boys, Baldwin said.
Additionally, about 1 in 3 children whose parents have scoliosis will develop scoliosis, according to the Milwaukee-based nonprofit Scoliosis Research Society. However, treatment of scoliosis, which is identified by a spinal curve greater than 10 degrees, isn’t necessary until the curve reaches 25 degrees.
Zooming out
The Katy campus is the second hospital in the system to offer the program outside of the Texas Medical Center, bringing spinal services closer to West Houston families, Baldwin said. In addition to elective scoliosis surgeries, the campus also offers emergency room care for spinal injuries.
“We have a ton of patients in that Katy area and beyond,” she said. “That area’s growing so rapidly that we decided that it was best to bring care out closer to the families, make it easier for travel, easier to have surgery and receive care and follow-up for spine conditions.”
Baldwin said Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus also offers nonsurgical resources for spinal disorders. Resources include:
- Outpatient clinics for evaluation
- Low-radiation X-ray machines
- Scoliosis-specific physical therapy
The spinal program is part of the Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine department at Texas Children’s Hospital. Dr. Simon Kelley, chief of the department, said Texas Children’s has invested in several features to expand the program into Katy, including:
- Purchasing new technologies to make surgeries safer
- Expanding multidisciplinary teams
“Surgeries have become safer, we're able to use more technology in the form of neuro monitoring, where we can watch patients’ nerves during surgery to make sure that surgery is safe as well as technology with the navigation,” she said.
Looking ahead
Additionally, Kelley said he’s recruiting to expand the spinal program to other hospitals across the Houston and Austin metro areas, including in North Austin and The Woodlands.
“There's a lot of children in our population, in our communities with spine problems that need access to care,” he said. “We want to make sure that everyone can be seen as soon as possible in the outpatient clinic, and then also not have to wait too long on a wait list for that surgery as well.”
