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Scoliosis is a sideways curve of the spine. It can develop in adults, often due to changes in the spine, such as disc degeneration, arthritis or osteoporosis. While many adults with scoliosis may not need treatment, surgery may be necessary in severe cases where the curve causes significant pain, limits movement or leads to deformity.

This type of surgery, called spinal deformity correction, is a complex procedure performed by a neurosurgeon. The goal is to realign the spine from the neck to the hips, both front-to-back and side-to-side. Dr. Ben Zussman, a Wellstar neurosurgeon at Wellstar North Fulton Medical Center, is one of the few specialists in Georgia who performs this life-changing surgery.

When scoliosis surgery is recommended

“Adult degenerative scoliosis often develops slowly, causing someone with a previously straight spine to become increasingly crooked,” Dr. Zussman explained. 
Common signs that might lead to considering surgery include:

• Uneven shoulders or waistline
• Protruding shoulder blades
• A hump on the back
• Severe low back pain or leg pain
• Leg weakness
• Stooped posture

These symptoms occur because the spine's unnatural curve forces the body to adjust, which can change posture and make it hard to stay upright. “Without a good center of gravity, your body begins to lean, which is exhausting,” says Dr. Zussman. When pain and limited mobility significantly affect daily life, scoliosis surgery can help improve movement and quality of life.

Moving forward with treatment

By age 50, Cynthia Clark’s spine had become so crooked that she could no longer stand upright. A CT scan taken just eight years earlier showed a straight spine, but degenerative scoliosis had progressed quickly, causing intense pain and difficulty walking.



Dr. Zussman offered Cynthia surgery to relieve her severe symptoms, explaining the complexity and long recovery process. Although she was nervous, Cynthia reached a point where she felt she couldn’t continue living in such pain.

Before surgery, Dr. Zussman referred her to an endocrinologist to strengthen her bones, ensuring she was physically and mentally prepared. When she was ready, Cynthia underwent the procedure.

Undergoing complex spinal surgery

Cynthia’s surgery was extensive, lasting eight hours and involving a long incision down her back. Dr. Zussman used advanced imaging techniques to guide the placement of 17 levels of screws with precision. He removed damaged discs and relieved pressure from pinched nerves. The screws were then connected by long, strong rods to realign her spine, restoring its shape and function.



Post-operative X-rays show Cynthia standing up straight. The screws, rods and spacers help to brace her skeleton internally and maintain her posture.

Recovery is ‘like a miracle’

Cynthia’s recovery was remarkable. She began walking within two days after surgery—far surpassing expectations. Her quick progress allowed her to be discharged without needing inpatient rehab, and she completed a shorter-than-usual course of outpatient therapy.

“Cynthia now walks completely straight without a cane,” said Dr. Zussman. “Even people at her grocery store notice the drastic difference and give her hugs.”

Cynthia credits Dr. Zussman and his team with giving her life back. “I’m so happy I can move and do stairs—it’s like a miracle,” she shared.

Life-changing scoliosis surgery

Wellstar’s neurosurgery team addresses complex brain and spine conditions, including adult spinal deformity. In severe cases, scoliosis correction surgery requires a dedicated team of 10 to 15 medical professionals working together to realign the spine.

“This type of surgery can be totally life-changing,” Dr. Zussman shared.

Only a few neurosurgeons in Georgia perform this extensive surgery. Wellstar offers this advanced level of scoliosis care at Wellstar Cobb Medical Center, Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center, Wellstar MCG Health Medical Center and Wellstar North Fulton Medical Center. Reach out to a location near you to schedule an appointment:

• Neurosurgery in Austell
• Neurosurgery in Marietta
• Neurosurgery in Roswell
• Orthopedics & Sports Medicine in Augusta 

Learn more about spine surgery at Wellstar.

It’s not every day that a young man survives a nearly fatal car accident and takes a victory walk through the hospital hallways to thank his care team. After suffering a rare cricotracheal separation that left Chris LoCurto unable to effectively breathe on his own, that’s exactly what happened.

Coordinated EMS & hospital care set Chris up for survival

At 22, Chris was in a car accident that caused serious injuries he wasn’t sure he’d be able to survive. He fractured his jaw, clavicle and spine and his lung collapsed. His most life-threatening injury was a tracheal separation—his airway was cut in half.

EMS professionals arrived on the scene. Although Chris was talking and walking, they could hear something abnormal in his breathing. The paramedics coordinated care with Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center so the trauma team would be assembled and ready for Chris upon arrival.

“I was trying to breathe but I wasn’t getting air,” Chris said. “Going to the hospital, I was honestly thinking I wasn’t going to make it.”

How the trauma team put Chris on the road to recovery

Led by Dr. Daniella Kington, the trauma team was waiting when Chris arrived. Immediately, they intubated him so he could breathe. They used a bronchoscope, a special camera, to see inside the airway to diagnose the injury and learn important details to plan treatment.

Chris was then put on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). This highly-advanced machine helps the heart, lungs or both heal after extreme trauma or organ failure.

“For Chris, ECMO supported his breathing and oxygenation during the intricate surgical repair of his trachea,” said Jamie Van Ness, MBA, BSN, TCRN, director of Trauma Services at Wellstar Kennestone.

Now a Level I Trauma Center, the hospital is one of a few in Georgia that offers ECMO.

Dr. Nelson May, a head and neck trauma surgeon, was assisted by Dr. Nicholas Mildenhall to perform Chris’ tracheal repair. The surgery required the surgeons to reattach Chris’ larynx to his trachea. Then they placed a tracheostomy tube so Chris would be able to breathe, swallow and talk again.

To allow his airway to heal, Chris was sedated for a few weeks. When he woke, his injuries had been treated but he was fighting pneumonia. He was transferred to intensive care and his condition improved within a week.

Throughout his time in the hospital, Chris received the right treatment at the right time thanks to Wellstar’s multidisciplinary approach to care.

“Coming to Wellstar Kennestone made a difference in Chris' outcome,” said trauma surgeon Dr. Ginger Justice, a physician who got to know Chris on her daily rounds. “He came to a trauma center that had all the resources to care for him—pretty much from the moment he hit the Emergency Department to discharge.”&

Providing specialized trauma care

When Chris was a patient, all the specially trained doctors and advanced technology were available to help him recover from his life-threatening injuries. Shortly after, Wellstar Kennestone was verified by the American College of Surgeons as a Level I Trauma Center, the highest level of trauma care offered.

“The first and most crucial piece [to Level I Trauma Center verification] is that we have all the different subspecialists available in one place to provide full care for our patients,” Dr. Kington said. “If a patient comes in, no matter where they’re injured, we have a subspecialist who can help with all those different injuries.”

That was exactly what Chris needed. In addition to helping people get trauma care fast, Wellstar Kennestone is home to a residency program, training the next generation of trauma doctors.

For about a month and a half, Chris recovered in the trauma unit, ICU and intensive inpatient rehabilitation. In Wellstar Kennestone’s inpatient rehab, specially trained speech, occupational and physical therapists create a specialized care plan to help each patient achieve their goals and get back to living life.

Compassionate nurses made a lasting impact on Chris

While the trauma team saved his life, Chris credits his nurses with keeping him motivated.

“Every nurse I met who came in, we ended up forming some sort of relationship,” Chris said. “They took care of me like their own. That’s not in their job title, nobody asked them to do that, which is why I’m so grateful. They went above and beyond what they get paid to do to make me better physically and mentally.”

For example, one nurse found out about Chris’ love of aviation and brought him to see an air ambulance helicopter. Another nurse shared his love for hunting and planned a reunion for Chris and his hunting companion, his dog Maddux.



“While the future was kind of unforeseen, the nurses connected with me,” Chris said. “I got to spend some time with my dog too. It was huge for my mental well-being.”

Coming back to say thanks

Chris defied the odds by walking, talking and being able to eat. Today, he’s taking steps toward a full recovery. While learning to live with a tracheostomy tube, he’s working out and increasing his cardio exercise. He spends a lot of time walking Maddux.

“I’m slowly introducing myself to normalcy again,” he said.

A crucial part of recovery was visiting the hospital and saying “thank you” to his care team.

“He and his family walked in,” Dr. Justice remembered. “I saw Chris in normal street clothes, walking with his sunglasses on. He said, ‘Hey, I’m doing great!’ To see this young man with so much potential have a good outcome was very inspiring.”

Chris made sure to thank as many care team members as possible. “Their motivation and drive to get me going is without a doubt one of the reasons I’m moving around as good as I am today,” he said.

Dr. May added, “It was gratifying to see the real-life implication of Chris’ care and to be able to participate in getting him to where he is today.”

A bright future thanks to expert trauma care

Overall, without the first-rate trauma response of Chris’ medical team at Wellstar Kennestone, he would not be where he is today—back in the wilderness with Maddux.

“The coordination of many different teams and doctors with different areas of expertise in different phases of his care allowed him to be where he is today,” Dr. May said.

Wellstar Kennestone provided the advanced care Chris needed with excellent trauma services. Now with a Level I Trauma accreditation, the trauma team can keep offering advanced care—and preparing the physicians of the future to do the same.

Learn more about Trauma Care at Wellstar.

Like most seniors, Ja’Quan Hart was very much looking forward to going off to college in the summer of 2023.

The Thomson, Ga., resident had just graduated high school and as a linebacker and tight end, helped lead his Thomson High School Bulldogs to win the Class AA State Championship.

“I had these big tackles, and I caught like an 89-yeard interception pass,” he said. “That was like my best game. We won state!”

Ja’Quan’s talent and skill on the football field—and his love of the game—earned him the opportunity to play for the University of Kansas with a full scholarship.

Unfortunately, life had other plans.

Amid packing for school and booking his flights, Ja’Quan learned from a routine sports physical that he had an irregularity in his heart that could be life-threatening.

That irregularity turned out to be a leaky aortic valve—and an abrupt end to his aspirations of a college football career.

“Blood was flowing back into my heart. It wasn’t going all the way through,” Ja’Quan explained.

In a healthy heart, leaflets between the left and right ventricles open to allow blood to flow through the heart one way and then close fully to keep blood from flowing back into the heart. In a condition like Ja’Quan’s, the leaflets do not close all the way and blood does leak back into the heart.

For most people the treatment for a leaky aortic valve involves a valve replacement. But a valve replacement now will often require another replacement surgery at some point in the future, and probably more than one, said Dr. Brian Bateson, a pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon and co-director of the adult congenital heart program at Wellstar MCG Health Medical Center. The younger the patient, the more potential surgeries the patient will need to have to replace the valves when they wear out.

Because Ja’Quan had not yet reached 20 years of age at the time of his care, a valve replacement would mean multiple surgeries over the course of his life.

The solution is a new device called the HAART ring that is affixed to the support structure of the aortic valve. This stabilizes the valve and allows for further repair of the leaflets themselves, meaning the valve can close properly and prevent leakage.

“If you’re using Ja’Quan’s own valve, keeping it in place and it functions, potentially he wouldn’t need another procedure again in his life because it’s still his own tissue. It’s not going to break down. Any prosthetic valve, whether it’s mechanical, bio-prosthetic will fail over time,” Dr. Bateson said. “Nothing’s better than what you’re born with.”

The HAART device is ideal for a young patient like Ja’Quan, but would also be a good treatment option for any person—pediatric or adult—with the same condition.

Ja’Quan spent three days in the hospital recovering from his surgery. Since, he has been slowly increasing his cardiovascular activity, such as walking, and following up with Dr. Bateson for regular checkups, who said he has been recovering very well.

Ja’Quan said he plans to continue to play sports, but will need to be more selective about the sports he can play.

“I play basketball. I just won’t be playing contact sports (like football),” he said.

Though he said it was disappointing to have to change direction as far as playing college football is concerned, Ja’Quan hasn’t let it dampen his spirit. Instead of college football, he is now exploring the possibility of driving trucks with the intention of going into business for himself—as long as it isn’t too strenuous for his heart.

“I’m not going to give up. I’m going to regroup and keep going and find another path to being successful in life,” he said.