Quadriplegics’ Hand and Arm Movements Restored

In 2012, Michael D. Bavlsik, MD, his son, and other Boy Scouts were traveling in Minnesota when his van collided with a boat and a trailer. While none of the boys was severely injured, the accident left Bavlsik a quadriplegic. He moves around in a motorized wheelchair. However, the primary care physician and father of eight is now able to feed himself, write, examine patients’ ears, and drive, based on a newly reported surgical technique.

It works like a railroad switchman, researchers say. The technique has restored some hand and arm movements to quadriplegics by rerouting passageways. The surgeons connect healthy nerves to injured nerves. The results is that peripheral nerves in the patient’s arms and hands are redirected. It’s a new nerve network.

In the published report in the October issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, all nine patients studied had improved hand and arm functions.

“Physically, nerve-transfer surgery provides incremental improvements in hand and arm function. However, psychologically, these small steps are huge for a patient’s quality of life,” said the study’s lead author, Ida K. Fox, MD, assistant professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery in the Division of Plastic Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis. “One of my patients told me he was able to pick up a noodle off his chest when he dropped it. Before the surgery, he couldn’t move his fingers. It meant a lot for him to clean off that noodle without anyone helping him.”