Arbroath girl recovering well after major spine op

Without treatment, Amber’s lungs would have been crushed

A 12-year-old Arbroath girl is recovering after undergoing extensive back surgery to stop her spine crushing her lungs.

Amber Whamond had two titanium rods, eight screws and five hooks placed in her back in a successful operation to correct a 48-degree curve to her spine at the Royal Hospital for Sick Kids in Edinburgh last week.

Her mother Cherise is looking to raise awareness of her condition, scoliosis, and is calling on parents to check their children’s spines.

The problem emerged when Amber complained she had hurt her back while competing in the high-jump at an athletics competition in August.

When Cherise examined her daughter’s back she noticed that her spine was curving to the right.

An x-ray at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee subsequently revealed the scoliosis was so pronounced she would require medical intervention.

“Surgery was the only option otherwise the spine would have continued to curve and start to crush Amber’s lungs and other organs,” said Cherise.

“In the month between her being seen at Ninewells and at Sick Kids in Edinburgh her spine curved from 43 degrees to almost 48 degrees. ”

The four-hour op involved titanium rods being inserted down each side of Amber’s spine, secured with eight long screws into the vertebrae. Five hooks also secured the rods. The first year pupil also had bone grafts fused between the affected vertebrae.

Cherise said: “Amber is such a positive person. She was calm before the operation and hasn’t complained once about the physio.

“It will be six months before she can swim again and a year before she can do athletics or dancing again and Amber was such a sporty, active person.

“It’s a huge relief that the operation went well. She will get regular check-ups but the specialists are happy.”

Scoliosis often starts in children between the ages of 10 and 15. In some cases a back brace can stop the curve getting worse as they grow.

“There seems to be a real lack of awareness of it,” Cherise added.

“Parents should ask their child to bend forward and dangle their arms. Look out for a rib hump – a triangle to one side.”

Cherise also backs a petition to make scoliosis screening compulsory in all UK schools.

Picture: Mhairi Edwards. Brave Amber with mum Cherise who is backing calls for scoliosis screening in schools.