Each year between 250,000 and 500,000 people worldwide suffer a spinal cord injury, with just over 50 percent resulting in tetraplegia – a degree of paralysis in all four limbs. In a bid to offer new hope to paralyzed patients, an Australian doctor has performed a pioneering surgery technique that has dramatically improved the lives of 13 people, by moving their nerves from one place to another.
After undergoing single or multiple nerve transfers, 13 patients who were paralyzed in sporting or traffic accidents, have had their movement in their hands restored, enabling them to feed themselves, hold a drink, write and in some cases return to work. Nerves were taken from shoulders and transplanted into paralyzed muscles in the arm so that they bypassed the injury and connected back up to the spinal cord.
Two years on from surgery, the patients have significant improvements in their hand function, particularly enough pinch and grasp strength to carry out most tasks of daily living. Hopefully, the positive results will spur more surgeons around the world to carry out this surgery for people with tetraplegia.
