spasticity - surgical solutions???

[carbar]

pain and spasticity seem to go together - at least in my case they do. no medications I have tried have worked so I take nothing (choosing to keep my head instead of being on over the top doses which knock me out) but the result is that the spasticity is so bad that it has pulled my hip permanently out of its socket (it was held in by a pin following my accident). a baclofen pump has been suggested as a possible option to reduce spasticity (although oral baclofen didn't work at all). Surgery to sever the nerves that supply the abductor muscles of my right leg has also been suggested. Is there anyone out there who has had either suggestions carried out? I'd be curious to know the outcomes. Or any other possibilities? I definitely need to do something soon as it seems only to be getting worse.

[georgeh]

I had 2 computer assisted DREZ microcoagulation surgeries in 2003 for central pain relief. They were done at Craig Hospital in Englewood, Colorado (Denver suburb). Neither one worked at all for the purpose of relieving my pain, but they did have a beneficial side effect. I went into the first surgery with not only pain but also with a great deal of spasticity. I came out with no spasticity at all. I mean zero...NONE.

They also have surgical interventions specifically for spasticity:

Percutaneous Thermal Rhizotomy (PTR): This is an outpatient procedure in which radio-frequency heat lesions are delivered to selected peripheral nerves involved in spasticity.

Selective Sensory Microrootlet Section (SSMS): This is a surgical procedure which involves cutting selected sensory nerve rootlets entering the spinal cord.

They have a very informative website
http://www.craighospital.org

[carbar]

thank you georgeh for the info. It is good to have the 'medical' names for the procedures - all I need now is to get them translated into french! surgery seems drastic (I have had enough of it to last me a lifetime) but if it can be successful in ridding me of the spasticity then I would have to consider it worth it. I am sorry for you that it did not relieve your pain as well.