Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) Webinar
A new Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) program for children has started in the province of Ontario! The program is run by The Hospital for Sick Children and Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital in Toronto, and is supported by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. This program is offered to children diagnosed with cerebral palsy (CP) in Ontario who have goals to improve standing, walking or running. This CP-NET webinar allows you to meet the experts on SDR, highlighting frequently asked questions and practical information about all the steps before, during and after the surgery. All information is presented in plain language by a panel that includes parent, doctor, therapist, and researcher perspectives.
About the Presenters:
Christine and Larry Marion are parents to energetic 6 and 4 year old boys, the youngest of which has cerebral palsy (spastic diplegia). Since diagnosis at 18mo they have aggressively pursued all avenues for their son's development including, most recently, participation in the new SDR program at The Hospital for Sick Children and Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital.
Dr. Golda Milo-Manson, MD, MHSc, FRCP(C) is the developmental pediatrician and the Vice President of Medicine & Academic Affairs at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. She is also an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Toronto. She took the lead on the proposal submission for this program.
Dr. George Ibrahim, MD, MHSc, FRCP(C) is a pediatric neurosurgeon at the Hospital for Sick Children and Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Toronto. His clinical work focuses on the treatment of epilepsy, spasticity and functional disorders in children. His research laboratory at SickKids focuses on the study of brain network changes in these conditions and the development of novel treatment strategies.
Marilyn Wright, BScPT, MEd, MSc. is a physiotherapist at McMaster Children’s Hospital and an Assistant Clinical Professor at McMaster University. She has been involved with the pre and post-operative care of children who have had SDR surgery.
About the Moderator:
Dr. Jan Willem Gorter, MD, PhD, FRCP(C) has training in pediatric and adult rehabilitation medicine (physiatry) and is Professor in the Department of Pediatrics. He is a member of the CP-NET Steering Group, lead of the MyStory project and the CP-Net Knowledge Translation co-lead. He holds the Scotiabank Chair in Child Health Research and is Director of CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research at McMaster University.
Motion Lab results guide critical decisions around care
Selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) surgery can help some children with CP by reducing high muscle tone that causes stiffness in the legs (also known as spasticity). An in-depth assessment of gait (the way a person walks) is part of the SDR Program.
Jan Willem Gorter explains the advantages of a gait assessment in the Motion Lab. Learn more how the findings of the Motion Lab study at Hamilton Health Sciences helped Madeleine and her parents make the decision to move forward with this life-changing procedure.