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Pediatric Spine and Scoliosis

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  • We have specific fellowship training in non-operative and operative treatment of all pediatric spinal issues including simple and complex scoliosis in patients of all ages.
     

  • We work with you and your pediatrician to come up with the best individualized treatment plan for your son or daughter.
     

  • We have given invited talks at national medical conferences and published research papers about pediatric spine surgery.
     

  • We are transforming the standard of pediatric spine care for the region.

 

 

Managing scoliosis in pediatric patients is our passion. We offer much more than just surgery.

 

We understand the challenges and vulnerability of having your child diagnosed with a spinal disorder. We listen to you and take the time to explain the disease and the treatment, and we fully integrate your pediatrician into the treatment plan. If surgery is needed, the surgical plan for your son or daughter will be discussed with multiple surgeons. 

 

We provide state-of-the-art diagnosis and treatment plans individualized to your child’s needs. We are completely fluent in a large variety of leading operative techniques. We treat everything from isolated back pain to the most complex pediatric scoliosis and spinal deformity in the region. We are often the referral center for the region’s most complex cases.

 

We are fully connected and affiliated with USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital on the Gulf Coast.  All surgeons at the Spine Institute have faculty appointments at the University of South Alabama. We work directly with our pediatric colleagues during all phases of care: before, during, and after surgery.

 

We welcome second opinions and referrals from other surgeons.

 

 

Training and Leadership

Richard Menger, M.D., M.P.A., completed the Advanced Pediatric Spinal Deformity Fellowship at Columbia University in New York City at the Och Spine Hospital/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York. This is the only fellowship of its kind in the country focusing on complex pediatric spine treatment. Dr. Menger completed this orthopedic spine fellowship as a neurosurgeon. Learn more about this specialized training.

 

Anthony Martino, M.D., Professor and Chair of Neurosurgery, underwent specific fellowship training in general pediatric neurosurgery at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). Learn more about neurosurgery at USA Health.

 

Tyler McDonald, M.D., Assistant Professor at the Whiddon College of Medicine, focuses on pediatric orthopaedic surgery. Learn more about pediatric orthopaedics at USA Health.

 

 

Specific Conditions Treated

  • Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis

  • Early onset scoliosis

  • Infantile/juvenile scoliosis

  • Congenital scoliosis

  • Hemivertebra

  • Kyphosis

  • Neuromuscular scoliosis

  • Spondylolisthesis

  • Back pain

  • Herniated disc

  • Pinched nerve

  • Tethered cord release

  • Syrnix and syringomyelia

  • Pediatric spinal tumors

  • Pediatric spinal trauma

  • Radiculopathy

  • Sagittal imbalance
     
     
     

Types of Non-Operative and Surgical Services Offered

  • Minimally invasive spine surgery

  • Spinal decompression

  • Scoliosis bracing

  • Mehta casting

  • Growing rods

  • Magnetically controlled growing rods (MAGEC)

  • Vertically expandable prosthetic titanium tib (VEPTR)

  • Revision spine surgery

  • Complex spine reconstructions

  • Spinal osteotomies (PCO, PSO, VCR)

 
 

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