Media invitation - Groundbreaking techniques brought forth in the 1990s change the lives of children and allow them to grow to be autonomous adults

A 20 year study shows that Selective dorsal rhizotomy benefits patients long-term

MONTREAL, June 10, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - Imagine watching your four-year-old son struggle to walk, because the muscles in his legs are too stiff to move without the help of a walker? Now picture him fifteen years later walking upright and being able to perform everyday activities.

Children with spastic cerebral palsy (CP) often have difficulty walking because their movements are spastic, due to stiffness in their muscles. Sadly, studies have shown that gross motor development in young people with spastic CP can plateau during childhood and may decline during adolescence.

Since 1991, physicians at the Montreal Children's Hospital (MCH) have been using selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) to treat children with spastic CP; with rehabilitation occurring at Shriners Hospitals for Children^®-Canada. However, little was known about the long-term outcomes of this treatment. Now, specialists from multiple departments at the MCH and Shriners Hospitals for Children - Canada, have come together to analyze the long-term benefits of this treatment and observed significant improvements in lower-limb muscle tone, gross motor function, and the ability to perform daily activities in the majority of patients.

The Journal of Neurosurgery (http://thejns.org/doi/full/10.3171/2013.4.PEDS12539) recently highlighted the exceptional results of 20 years of collaboration and research being done at both hospitals with an international press release. A joint press conference is being called to share the findings and celebrate the success of these patients and the program as a whole.

WHEN:			Tuesday, June 11, 2013 at 10:00 a.m.
WHERE:			Montreal Children's Hospital
			2300 Tupper Street (corner Atwater)
			Amphitheatre (D-182)
WHO:			Dr. Jean-Pierre Farmer, Neurosurgeon and Surgeon-in-Chief at the MCH
			Dr. Roy Dudley, division of Neurosurgery at the MCH
			Dr. Chantal Poulin, department of Neurology at the MCH
			Dr. Thierry Benaroch, Shriners Hospitals for Children - Canada & head of Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery at the MCH
			Families and patients will also be present to share their personal experience

 

SOURCE: THE MONTREAL CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL

Stephanie Tsirgiotis 
Communications Officer 
Public Relations and Communications   
The Montreal Children's Hospital 
514-412-4307 

Emmanuelle Rondeau
Manager
Public Relations
Shriners Hospitals for Children-Canada
514-207-1057 or [email protected]