Pediatric spine care: We've got your child's back

UW Health Kids specialists offer nationally recognized spine care. Orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons and rehabilitation doctors tend to your child. They offer a wide range of nonsurgical treatments. If they decide surgery is the best option, they use the most up-to-date, innovative techniques.

We diagnose and treat neck and back problems in children and teens. These problems can be present at birth or appear as a child grows. In other cases, they result from an injury or trauma.

Many conditions can affect a child’s back and spine. Whether your child’s condition is mild or complex, we have the expertise to diagnose and treat it.

Conditions

Conditions we treat include:

• Cervical spine disorders

• Herniated disks and pinched nerves

• Kyphosis

• Neck and back pain

• Sacroiliac dysfunction

• Scoliosis

• Spina bifida

• Spinal bone spurs

• Spinal fractures

• Spinal infection

• Spinal stenosis

• Spinal trauma

• Spine tumors

• Spine-related sports injuries

• Spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis

• Tethered spinal cord

• Whiplash

Treatments and services

We develop a treatment plan for every child that’s just right for them. Treatments we offer include:

• Orthotics

• Spinal rehabilitation

• Spine injections

• Spine physical therapy

• Spine surgery

Specific procedures we perform include:

• Surgery for spondylolisthesis

• Complex and revision spinal surgery

• CT-guided spine surgery

• Treatment of spinal tumors

• Foraminotomy (cervical and lumbar)

• Microdiscectomy

• Minimally invasive spine surgery and minimally invasive spinal fusion

• Spinal deformity (scoliosis, kyphosis) correction

• Spinal fusion

• Spinal stenosis operations (laminectomy, laminoplasty, minimally invasive decompressions)

• Stabilization of spinal trauma using minimally invasive techniques

• Tethered cord release

• Spinal cord stimulation for chronic pain

Robot-assisted pediatric spine surgery

Pediatric patients with spinal pathologies that warrant spinal fusion surgery now have a state-of-the-art minimally invasive option: Robot-assisted spine surgery.

At UW Health’s American Family Children’s Hospital — the first hospital in Wisconsin to offer the Mazor X Stealth Edition robotic guidance platform — we are planning and performing spinal fusion with the utmost precision and efficiency. Patients experience shorter recovery, less pain and a quicker path to normal activity.

It’s never easy when a child is hurting or in the hospital. We offer several services to help when your child is dealing with a spine condition.

The expertise and close collaboration of our many specialists sets our care apart. Orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons and rehabilitation physicians work together to care for your child. Physical therapists often have roles as well. Our teamwork helps your child receive the best treatment.

UW Health Kids Spine Medicine is located in American Family Children’s Hospital, and our Pediatric Complex Spine Clinic is located within our Science Dr Medical Center.

These resources can help you learn more about back and spine conditions:

Learn more about services related to pediatric spine care: