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SALT LAKE CITY -- From the cheerleading squad to the operating room and back again, this is the story of a determined young woman and the doctor who revolutionized a procedure that got this high school senior back on her feet.
In spinal fusion for scoliosis, rods, hooks, wires, or screws are attached to the curved part of the backbone and the spine is straightened. Small pieces of bone are then put over the spine. The bone pieces will grow together with the spinal bone, fusing it into the proper position. Spinal fusion is major surgery that usually takes several hours to complete.
When Tayler Hansen was still in junior high school she was diagnosed with scoliosis, a curving of her spine that, if left uncorrected, would eventually push against her lungs.
"It was a really noticeable hump," Tayler describes. "I couldn't for years see my shoulder blade on (one) side of my back."
Tayler was determined not to let scoliosis dictate her life. She became an athlete and a cheerleader for Timpview High School. But eventually, she could no longer go without treatment.
This year, just four years after her diagnosis, Tayler underwent spinal fusion, a special surgery to correct the curving of her spine. It's a procedure that used to take between eight and 12 hours and recovery would take months.
Luckily for Tayler, Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City has one of the world's experts: orthopedic surgeon Dr. John T. Smith.
"Kids from all over the world come to have this surgery done by him, and doctors from all over the world come to be trained under Dr. Smith," said Tayler's mom Sharen Hansen.
On April 4, 2011, Dr. Smith performed the spinal fusion on Tayler. Surgery took just two-and-a-half hours -- and Tayler was walking the next day.
Now a month later, Dr. Smith said Tayler is healing very well. From the outside her incision looks good, but the before and after x-rays really show the change.
Still, the real difference is how Tayler feels. Now that she's had the surgery, her internal organs will be much healthier and she'll live without pain.
There's another benefit to come from Tayler's surgery: She's gotten an inch taller.
"So when I wear my heels I'm five inches taller and I'm eye level with my friends, and I'm good," she said.
And the good news keeps coming. Tayler just learned today that she will be a speaker at Timpview High School's graduation.
Email: cmikita@ksl.com
