5 replies to this topic

[wheeels]

2007-01-16

For the first time in five years, Robert Blair is able to breathe on his own.

The Red Deer resident is the first patient to receive a diaphragm pacing system in a Canadian hospital, a small technological wonder that makes it possible for quadriplegics, who until now could only breathe with the aid of a mechanical respirator, to take breaths on their own.

The procedure was done at the Vancouver General Hospital Jan. 8 and will re-define Blair's life, said Dr. Jeremy Road, a respiratory medicine specialist at VGH.

"I was struck by how life-changing this procedure is," said Road.

"Mechanically ventilated patients almost always have severe impairments for smell, taste, and speech.

"With diaphragm pacing, they are able to regain their sense of taste and smell, improve speech and live life with a much higher level of independence."

After a period of conditioning, the diaphragm is strengthened to a point where a person can remain ventilator-free 24/7.

Blair, who was still recovering in Vancouver yesterday, was given the DPS as part of a clinical trial, which will see 10 Canadians receive the procedure.

[Trail-Boss]

WOW!!!
This is fantastic news. I know how hard it was for , Trail-Boss, to get off that darn ventilator. Doc's said he only had a 15 percent chance to do it. It was alot of hard work, let alone being very scary, but he did it. Again, Fantastic!!!
Great news,

Stick-Tight

[SuzyQ]

I don't think that article is correct. I am in Canada and I received my pacer in April of this year and before I decided to get mine I met a woman who was the first in Canada to get one - she got hers in 1973!
Here is a link the an article about the pacers use in Canada and the woman I met - Debbie Donald.

http://www.averylabs.../news/orcs.html

[wheeels]

Here is the link
Link

[snappy]

wheeels, on Jan 17 2007, 04:24 AM, said:

Here is the link
Link

It's great news but only works for some. Southport Unit (UK) do the surgery and have done for quite a while but the phrenic nerve needs to be working and unfortunately wasn't in my partners case.

[Apparelyzed]

The above article is a little vague on details, so I've added the following to expand on the above post.

Phrenic Nerve Stimulation PNS

Phrenic nerve stimulation (PNS) or diaphragm pacing for treatment of respiratory failure is possible only with normal phrenic nerves and muscles. Diseases of voluntary muscles (myopathy) or nerves (neuropathy) generally are a contraindication to PNS. Respiratory failure with normal phrenic nerves and diaphragm muscles is caused by either

- malfunction of the respiratory center in the brainstem or
- loss of the connection between the respiratory center and the nerve cells of the phrenic nerve in the cervical spinal cord.

In the latter case, also cells of the phrenic nerve may be destroyed, which decreases the amount of fibers (axons) in the nerve; this, in turn, decreases the amount of working muscle fibers and thus, muscle strength.

The phrenic nerves arise at both sides from the cervical segments 3 through 6 of the spinal cord . An electrode fixed to the nerve above the clavicle in the neck cannot stimulate the fibers coming from segment 6. The shortest way from the surface of the skin to the whole nerve is through the second intercostal space (between the second and the third rib) just outside of the borders of the sternum on both sides. The incisions needed to access the nerve are about 5 to 8 cm long. On the right side the nerve almost exactly drops vertically down from the clavicular groove to the center of the right diaphragm. On the left side, the nerve has to follow laterally the outer line of the heart but also ends in the center of the diaphragm. The center of the diaphragm is a tendon plate, which is fixed to the lower rib cage by the diaphragm muscles. The nerve separates into smaller units that innervate the different parts of the left and right diaphragm muscles. The fibers (axons) from C3 to C6 intermingle in the phrenic nerve. One axon serves muscle fibers in about 70% of the diaphragm muscle. Therefore, when electrically stimulating one quarter of the nerve a contraction results of one quarter of the muscles fibers, but this quarter is almost evenly distributed over the whole muscle. Naturally, we never contract more than one sixth of our muscle fibers at the same time.

More detailed information can be found by downloading the pdf file below.

Regards

Simon.

Attached Files

•  Neural_prostheses_for_ventilation.pdf   128.21K   158 downloads