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Neurological Surgery
Spasticity Center
Richard C.E. Anderson, MD
Director, Spasticity CenterThe Spasticity Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital provides the highest level of comprehensive care for children with spasticity from cerebral palsy, spinal cord injuries, or other motor disorders. To manage the often complex needs of children with spasticity, which is characterized by tight or stiff muscles that interfere with voluntary muscle movements, the Spasticity Center combines the expertise of pediatric neurosurgeons, neurologists, orthopedic surgeons, physical and occupational therapists, nurses, social workers, and specialists in orthotics. Through this multidisciplinary approach, we are able to offer a global team assessment, implement a well-balanced treatment plan that is highly individualized, and provide continuous follow-up care.
Providing compassionate care in the highest ranked children's hospital in the Tri-State are, the Spasticity Center offers a full range of treatment options that may include a combination of physical and occupational therapy (including positioning, bracing, splinting, and casting), Botox intramuscular injections, Baclofen and other oral medications, and neurosurgical and orthopedic surgical treatments.
In some cases neurosurgical treatment options include intrathecal baclofen pumps that are implanted under the skin to dispense medication directly into the spinal fluid. The Spasticity Center at Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital is one of only three centers in the country -- and the only one in the northeast -- to offer minimally invasive selective dorsal rhizotomy, a type of surgery used to lessen spasticity in which the surgeon operates on the nerve roots leading to sensory nerves in the legs. A well-established approach for more than 25 years, minimally invasive selective dorsal rhizotomy is one of the few operations for which neurosurgeons have conducted prospective, randomized trials to demonstrate that it can help children by both reducing spasticity and improving function.
The standard approach for selective dorsal rhizotomy -- and the one that is most often performed throughout the country -- requires the removal of five levels of bone from the back of the spine. With the minimally invasive approach performed by our neurosurgeons, only one level of bone is removed through a 1.5-inch incision. The operation is much quicker and children recover faster with less postoperative pain, allowing them to begin the process of retraining their relaxed muscles with physical therapy and rehabilitation at an earlier stage.
Our healthcare team provides consultation and treatment services during a single visit, avoiding the need for multiple appointments over several months. Patients undergo a thorough examination to determine the optimum management plan for their particular condition. The Spasticity Center's use of the latest treatments, along with coordinated and centralized care, helps patients and their families to better cope with these challenging disorders.
Contact
- Spasticity Center
- (212) 305-9606
