A DONEGAL schoolgirl who waited five years for a life-changing scoliosis operation is now on another waiting list for surgery.
Kylie Ann Stewart (12), from Kilmacrennan, was in so much in pain in 2024 that she could not sit in her wheelchair.
Surgery has since corrected the curvature of her spine that was caused by scoliosis – but her parents have revealed that she now needs another urgent operation.
Kylie Ann’s father Jonathan told the Donegal News: “She now needs surgery for bladder and bowel problems and is again on a waiting list.
“They say that the waiting time for the procedure could be two years. There are 10 to 12 children with this condition in Ireland and also waiting for surgery.
“Like the scoliosis surgery, this operation would transform so many children’s lives. But there are always waiting lists.
“At the last appointment, I pointed out to the doctors how such a small procedure can have a huge positive in the life of a child, yet children like Kylie are being force to wait years.
“Surgery would make such a difference. We were in the same situation years ago when we waited for the scoliosis surgery and now here we are again.”
He added: “Kylie waited five years for the scoliosis surgery but her life was transformed after a 12- to 14-hour operation.
“Her life was improved so easily, but she had to wait five years for it to happen. Why leave it so long? They make it so hard for the kids.”
Scoliosis is a sideways curvature of the spine that often includes a twisting or rotation of the bones.
Instead of a straight line, the spine appears as a C or S shape.
Figures published earlier this year reveal that 525 children’s scoliosis surgeries were cancelled by in Irish hospitals over the last four years.
Some 215 patients were waiting list for spinal surgery at the end of January.
Kylie Ann was aged five when doctors said she needed surgery within a year – but she was on a waiting list for five years by which time the curvature of her spine was putting pressure on her lungs.
The curvature was 138 degrees and doctors feared that it could become inoperable if she did not get surgery soon.
Her dad Jonathan said last night: “Kylie’s surgery in 2024 went well in terms of the structure of her back. The curve is gone. She’s now so much taller due to her back being straightened.”