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INNOVATION FOR INDEPENDENCE
ISSUE 85 JUNE/JULY 2012 £6.95
Paralysed man regains use of hand after op By Helen Williams A PARALYSED man regained the use of his hand after he had a pioneering operation to bypass damage to his spinal cord. The 71-year-old patient injured the lowest bone in his neck in a car crash in June 2008. The damage to the C7 vertebra left him without the use of his legs and only limited shoulder, elbow and wrist function. He also lost the use of his hand because while the nerve circuit in his hand was intact, the connection between his brain and digits had been lost. Surgeons at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis restored this link by rerouting working nerves in his upper arm. The patient can now pinch his thumb and index fingers together using nerves that once told his brain to bend at the elbow. He can now feed himself and even write. Senior researcher Dr Ida K Fox said: “This procedure is unusual for treating quadriplegia because we do not attempt to go back into the spinal cord where the injury is. “Instead, we go out to where we know things work – in this case the elbow – so that we can
borrow nerves there and reroute them to give hand function.” After the surgery, the bicep still flexes the elbow, but a second muscle, called the brachialis, that used to also provide elbow flexion, now bends the thumb and index finger. The patient underwent intense physiotherapy so his brain could understand how his nerves now worked. “Many times these patients say they would like to be able to do very simple things,” Dr Fox said. “If we can restore the ability to pinch, between thumb and index finger, it can return some very basic independence.” The surgery was developed and performed by Dr Susan E. Mackinnon. Specialising in injuries to peripheral nerves, she has pioneered similar surgeries to return function to injured arms and legs. “This is not a particularly expensive or overly complex surgery,” Dr Mackinnon said. “It’s not a hand or a face transplant, for example. It’s something we would like other surgeons around the country to do.” If you’ve got a story for Assistive Technologies email Helen Williams at helenw@scriptmedia.co.uk
Paracyclist Jon-Allan Butterworth has teamed up with Droitwich-based company AKW to promote independent lifestyles for people with disabilities. Jon-Allan, who is preparing for the London 2012 Paralympic Games, lost his left arm while serving in Iraq in 2007. He gave a presentation with the company – an accessible bathrooms and kitchens specialist – at Naidex National at Birmingham NEC.