The surgeon who straightened Stephenie Bint’s spine has no idea what causes scoliosis.

In fact, said Dr. Allen Carl of the Bone and Joint Center in Albany, no one knows for sure, though there are theories.

Carl performed corrective surgery on Bintz, a recent Guilderland High School graduate and former member of the Guilderville swim team.

Bintz had a 49-degree curvature of her spine at the time of the surgery.
"No one knows what causes scoliosis," Carl said. "There has been dialogue that it is hormonal or genetic. There is no answer"
"Present research is being done to see if there is a genetic predisposition. Work is being done to see if a gene locus causes it or if there is a hormonal cause and if people who grow quicker have it happen."

Carl said that, when the spine is past 45 degrees in curvature, surgery is needed. There are health risks with a spine that is severely curved.
"There can be heart and lung problems as well as back pain problems," Carl said.

The surgery that Carl performed on Bintz has its risks, because of nerves, but he does about 50 of those surgeries a year.
"It’s not that common," Carl said. "I’m the only person in the area that does it. There are only about 850 scoliosis surgeons around the country. I’m one of the few who specialize in that arena."

Carl has been doing corrective back surgeries for 20 years.

He puts rods into the spine to hold bones and to join them together.
"It’s essentially gluing them together," Carl said.

The goal of the surgery is to fix the curvature by 30 to 70 percent. The average, Carl said, is 50 percent, which they were able to correct on Bintz’s spine.

The surgery is also done to hold the spine in place, to keep it from getting worse than the degree it was corrected to.

Bintz had to rest for about six months after the surgery, which Carl said is normal.
"The typical time it takes the bone to heal is six months," he said. "We don’t want them to jostle around for six months."

Scoliosis is not common and males and females are equally affected, Carl said. He added that scoliosis tends to progress more severely in women.

No link has been found between constant activity and scoliosis, he said.

Most people have zero degrees of curvature in their spine, said Carl, but for those who are severely affected, surgery is needed and helps tremendously.
"It takes away any future curve," he said, "and corrects it to a certain degree."