Spasticity

What is it?

By spasticity we mean the difficulty in passive movement of the arms or legs due to damage to the central nervous system and pyramidal involvement. The lesion may be associated with cerebral palsy, strokes, brain injuries, multiple sclerosis, heredity, etc. It can be treated with various drugs taken orally. Occasionally the side effects of these drugs preclude their use and these patients have to opt for a surgical treatment.

A modern option, is the surgical implantation of a baclofen pump (baclofen pump) . These pumps have a reservoir with the anti-spasticity drug, and are connected to a small tube that pumps the drug into the space surrounding the spinal cord. The pump is about the size of a mobile phone and is inserted by simple surgery, subcutaneously in the lower abdomen. The drug is delivered selectively and in a programmed dose directly where it is needed (around the spinal cord) and therefore has better efficacy and minimal side effects. Post-operatively with a telemetry device we can adjust the dosage frequently to achieve the expected result. The benefits and possible complications of this treatment (such as systemic contamination at 1-2%) should be discussed with the surgeon. Many types of pumps are now available on the market, each with specific characteristics, and now the choice of the appropriate pump should be based on improving the patient's quality of life.

In our clinic in recent years, dozens of patients with spasticity of various etiologies have been operated on in our clinic with excellent results.