4 Surgery to aid cerebral palsy patients now available A surgical procedure to help children with cerebral palsy is now available at The Hershey Medical Center , according to Dennis Johnson, professor of neurosurgery and pediatrics. The surgical procedure cuts certain sensory nerves which are creating too much noise in the system. Patients 3 to 5 years old who have not undergone previous procedures are ideal candidates for the surgery. If we didn't do anything, Jenny would never walk.
Children generally remain in inpatient rehabilitation for four to six weeks following the surgery.
Hershey Medical Center is the only facility between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh providing selective posterior rhizotomy. Cerebral palsy is a term used to describe a group of disorders affecting body movement and muscle coordination resulting from damage to the brain suffered at or about the time of birth. About one child in a thousand is affected by cerebral palsy. This page was created by Annemarie Mountz .