Photo: © REN TV
Advanced technologies and unique treatment methods are also discussed in Moscow at the largest medical congress. Hundreds of leading children’s doctors and scientists gathered in the capital. What has already been successfully used in the plot REN TV Correspondent Kristina Morozova will tell you.
One can only envy the perseverance of the smiling green-eyed girl. Alisa is only four years old, but she is already a real fighter. She was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at 10 months. The baby cried endlessly and asked to be held, and could not roll over onto her back and tummy on her own.
“Of course, a child is given such a diagnosis – it’s scary. The world has collapsed, in fact.”said Alisa’s mother Valentina Balakay.
From that day on it began: medical consultations, rehabilitation centers, physical therapy. This gives certain results, but it won’t get you on your feet. Alice, at four years old, already understands this.
– Why do we need this operation, Alice?
– To walk.
Hypertonicity of the muscles prevents children with cerebral palsy from walking independently. The child cannot fully rest on his feet; the heels are constantly raised up. Selective dorsal rhizotomy, as the operation is called, relaxes the muscles, after which children can even take their first steps. Doctors from the Moscow Veltishchev Institute provide this opportunity.
Three doctors perform the operation at once – two surgeons and a neurophysiologist who controls the entire process. If previously such a surgical intervention took six or even seven hours, now, thanks to unique technologies, the operation can be performed within an hour.
Electrical impulses help determine which roots paralyze the child’s muscles. Several dozen electrodes are specially connected to a small patient.
During the operation, surgeons do not remove any bone structure, although 30 years ago, in order to get to the sensitive nerves and relieve spasms, they removed the entire lumbar spine.
“We go between the vertebral arches through an approach literally one and a half centimeters long. Under the control of a microscope, we reach a level below the spinal cord – where all the roots go in one bunch. We work only on sensitive ones, so that, God forbid, the muscles do not lose their functions,” – explained Doctor of Medical Sciences Dmitry Zinenko, head of the neurosurgical department of the Research Institute of Pediatrics and Pediatric Surgery named after. Veltishcheva.
At least one such operation is performed at the center every day. This is a unique patented method. The minimally invasive and also minimally traumatic operation surprises neurosurgeons from all over the country. At one conference in Brazil, doctors did not even believe that this was possible.
“We had a poster presentation there with this access. And he comes up to our stand and says, no, it’s impossible to do an operation with this access.”said the doctor.
The center’s doctors share this unique technique with colleagues from all over the country. The largest medical congress is taking place in Moscow, where they demonstrate the most advanced technologies used in pediatric medicine.
“You will see maxillofacial surgeons. You will see otolaryngologists with their most serious conferences. You will see neurosurgeons, pediatricians, neurologists, cardiologists,” – said Dmitry Morozov, director of the Veltishchev Institute, chief pediatric surgeon of the Russian Ministry of Health.
One of the topics discussed at the congress is spinal muscular atrophy.
“Over the past three months, our center has treated 20 patients with progressive Duchenne muscular dystrophy. They were given the drug delandestrogen moxeparvovec.”– said Dmitry Vlodavets, a neurologist at the Research Institute of Pediatrics and Pediatric Surgery named after. Veltishcheva.
According to doctors, although this drug will not cure patients 100%, it will make their lives much easier.
Source: Ren
Henry Smith is a knowledgeable and experienced health journalist. He currently writes for 24 news breaker, where he provides readers with in-depth analysis and expert insights on a wide range of health-related topics. With a focus on evidence-based reporting and a passion for making complex health information accessible to a general audience, Henry’s work is highly respected in the industry.