Tuesday

Surgery In Egypt



I recently returned from Egypt, where my father and I performed a specialized surgery we developed to help quadriplegic patients breathe without the aid of a ventilator. (My dad is a neurosurgeon. Neurosurgery has elements of nerve surgery and plastic surgery, so the procedure is perfect for us to do together.)

Our procedure uses a nerve graft to take a functioning nerve and attach it to the nerve that controls breathing via the diaphragm, and which does not work in patients with quadiplegia. A phrenic nerve pacemaker is then used on this new hybrid nerve to stimulate and control breathing. Once this system is in place, patients can breathe without the constraints created by being dependent on a ventilator.

We have performed this surgery in Chile, Brazil, Israel, England, Switzerland, Turkey, and now Egypt. More information can be found on our web site dedicated to this procedure with the phrenic nerve pacemaker.