There have been a number of recent news stories from England about parents with children who suffer from cerebral palsy, raising funds and traveling to St. Louis for a procedure that has the potential to dramatically change their lives.
The team in St. Louis performs a surgery called selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR). Doctors use electrical stimulation on the nerves along the lower portions of a child’s spinal column to determine which nerve endings are causing the spasticity. Those nerves are then partially cut. This severs ties from the nerves to the muscles and allows for the normal nerve endings to control the child’s muscles, resulting in better balance and a more natural position of their limbs. In many cases, the child is able to walk unassisted after their muscles have been given the chance to strengthen.
While it is not a cure-all for people who have cerebral palsy, it can improve the quality of life for many qualifying patients. For parents whose children have special needs, the operation performed at St. Louis Children’s Hospital can offer hope for the future. Please visit their website for more information and contact your doctor to discuss this treatment further.
Keith Pillich, an Occupational Health and Safety Engineer, contributes to Aspire of Western New York and is the father of a child with special needs.
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