A man who was paralyzed after a serious road accident can regain the use of his hand thanks to a pioneering nerve transfer operation from his partially amputated leg, doctors in northern Italy said.
Surgeons at the Municipal Hospital of Turin (CTO) transferred part of the man’s sciatic nerve, which controlled the movement of his amputated foot, to his brachial plexus, the network of nerves that connects the spinal cord to the shoulder, arm and hand. .
“It is the first time that someone has transferred a component of the sciatic nerve to the brachial plexus,” Paolo Titolo, one of the surgeons who performed the operation, said in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday.
Marcello Gaviglio, a 55-year-old healthcare worker, had to have half of his left leg amputated after being hit by a motorcycle five months ago while riding his moped to work.
He suffered serious injuries to his brachial plexus and leg, which prevented him from using any of his hands.
Because the part of the sciatic nerve that controlled his left foot was no longer needed, it was able to be transferred to the shoulder area in the operation performed on December 21, potentially returning mobility to one of his hands.
Marcello Gaviglio had part of the sciatic nerve from his amputated leg moved to the brachial plexus, the network of nerves that connects the spinal cord to the shoulder, arm and hand. REUTERS The surgery took place at the CTO Hospital in Turin on December 21, after months of post-operative care. REUTERS
Before it is clear if that is possible, Gaviglio will have to undergo about five months of post-operative care. For now, he still can’t move his hand at all.
Nerve transfer surgery is not new, but it previously did not involve moving a nerve that normally controls the foot to an area that controls the hand.
“We believe that this is a pioneering surgery because if it works it means that brain plasticity can also control other parts of the body that we did not expect and it also opens new fields in neurological studies,” Titolo said.
The goal is to restore “some grasping function” to the hand, which can then also help the other hand do things, he added.
The procedure was the result of four years of research and was published in the medical journal Injury.
Surgeon Paolo Titolo and Gaviglio speak after surgery on December 27, 2023. REUTERS Gaviglio had to have half of his left leg amputated after he was hit by a motorcycle five months ago while traveling to work on his moped. REUTERS He also suffered serious injuries to his brachial plexus and leg, which prevented him from using any of his hands. REUTERS
Gaviglio, the patient, said he hadn’t thought much about the pioneering aspect of the surgery, he just felt it was an opportunity he should take advantage of.
“I thought I would trust a team of very good doctors and be able to move my hand a little again,” he said.
Categories: Trending
Source: vtt.edu.vn