Surgical cerebral palsy treatment

Modern progressive surgical technologies make it possible to significantly improve the condition of a patient with cerebral palsy. So, selective dorsal rhizotomy is an operation, after which involuntary movements or muscle spasms disappear. The patient gets rid of pain, socializes better, and care for him is simplified. Another obvious advantage of this operation is that it significantly reduces the number of subsequent orthopedic surgeries.

The optimal age for selective dorsal rhizotomy is 3-8 years.

The intervention is performed on patients with spastic diplegia, the most common form of cerebral palsy, in which the muscles of the limbs contract involuntarily.

Involuntary convulsions with cerebral palsy are the result of damage to brain activity: the brain transmits incorrect signals through the nerve endings, causing the muscles of the arms or legs to contract involuntarily. If we exclude nerve endings from this chain (brain – nerves – muscles), spasticity either disappears altogether or noticeably decreases. As a result of the operation, the muscles relax, and the child gets rid of the pain.

Selective dorsal rhizotomy is a minimally invasive neurosurgical operation: damage to healthy tissues is minimized. First, the neurosurgeon makes a small incision in the spine to provide access to the spinal canal. Then, with the help of intraoperative equipment, the nerve endings are determined, which are responsible for the increased tone of certain muscles. After that, thin fibers that transmit spastic impulses intersect. Thanks to innovative equipment, manipulations are carried out without damaging the nerve endings nearby.

After suturing the tissues and the surgical wound, the patient is placed for 24 hours in the postoperative ward. Day after day, the patient is constantly monitored and the work of all organs and systems is verified as well.

After the operation, there is a sharp weakening of the muscles. Since they have not worked normally since birth, there is a risk that muscle weakness will develop.

There is a condition, in which even those motor skills that the patient previously had may disappear. Therefore, rehabilitation is an important and mandatory stage, without which the effectiveness of the operation may be low.

The efficiency of selective dorsal rhizotomy is quite high, over 90%. Moreover, the achieved effect persists for many years.