i..Lauren as seen Dr Farmer three times, each time we were told she was not a good candidate yet. The last time we were there he told us he would see her when she’s five, unless we thought she was stronger and more ready for the surgery before that time. So we just sent an email to him requesting that he would see her sooner because Lauren is stronger and that her window of opportunity for her to want to walk is closing. So pray with us that Lauren will get to have the surgery and that it will be successful.Doctors at Montreal’s Shriners and Children’s hospitals are spreading the word that a specialized surgery for cerebral palsy patients that can help relieve some of the spasticity of the condition is offered in Canada.
Dr. Jean-Pierre Farmer, the chief of neurosurgery at Montreal’s Children’s Hospital, is one of the few doctors in Canada who can perform the surgery, which is called selective dorsal rhizotomy, or SDR.
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The procedure can help alleviate some of the symptoms of cerebral palsy, particularly the muscle stiffness that can lead to chronic pain, exhaustion, and disability.
Cerebral palsy affects roughly 2.5 out of every 1,000 babies born in Canada every year, and is caused by abnormal brain development or a brain injury during pregnancy or birth. The spasticity caused by CP makes it difficult or impossible for children to move their limbs in isolation. Those who do learn to walk often do so on their tiptoes with their knees close together so that they need a wheelchair or braces to walk.
The SDR procedure involves exposing the nerves in the spinal column and cutting those nerve fibres that cause muscle tightness using electrical pulses. The nerves that properly control movement are left intact.
If all goes well, and all the affected fibres are cut, it can be possible for children with CP to learn to walk independently.