Surgery Seen As Aid To Bladder Control For Paralyzed People
Dateline- Washington
Needing a wheelchair isn't always the biggest complaint of people left
paralyzed by spinal cord injury. Its also the loss of bladder control. On
Monday, Michigan doctors began a unique experiment to see if rerouting
patients
nerves just might fix the problems.
Its a delicate operation. Surgeons cut open a spot on the spine and sew two
normally unrelated nerves together-one from the thigh- with a single hair thin
stitch. It will take several
months for this new nerve bridge to heal, an anxious waiting period for the
first volunteers.
But if it works, merely scratching the thigh should signal the bladder to
empty, allowing patients to ditch their despised catheters and restore a
longed-for degree of freedom, as well as fewer bladder infections and other
serious
complications.
Its a technique pioneered in China that is starting to garner international
attention and surgeons at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oaks, Michigan,
hope their new US study will prove if the approach really is a solution for
at least some patients.
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