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From: | |
Reply To: | St. John's University Cerebral Palsy List |
Date: | Tue, 14 Mar 2000 15:09:32 EST |
Content-Type: | text/plain |
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In a message dated 3/14/00 7:57:59 PM, [log in to unmask] writes:
<< I also wanted to read the article about Baclofen and can't get in there.
Can
you copy and paste the article? Or is that illegal? :-)))
Dina >>
here it is Dina. I don't know if it's legal?
Once it has been established that intrathecal Baclofen would be of use in
managing an individuals limb hypertonia, the surgical implantation of the
delivery system is scheduled. In the case of younger children a preliminary
surgery may be required for the implantation of an CSF access device to be
used in place of a spinal tap to deliver the drug to the CSF space during the
test phase of candidate evaluation.
Currently, the most widely used pump is manufactured by Medtronic and it
comes in two different sizes. Both have the diameter of a hockey puck (3
inches in diameter) with one being slimmer than the other. The larger pump
weighs about 6 ounces while the smaller is about { } ounces. They are usually
implanted above and either to the left or right of the belly button under the
skin and fat of the abdominal wall resting on the sheath of the abdominal
muscles. They are connected to a thin rubber catheter which is tunneled to
the side and around to the back in the fat layer under the skin. A needle is
then used to introduce the catheter into the lower back's spinal fluid column
so that the tip of the catheter overlays the lower spinal cord responsible
for function within the legs.
Once the surgical incisions are closed the pump is adjusted to deliver the
drug at a rate based on the amount of drug shown to be effective during the
trial phase of evaluation. The rate of delivery is then optimized over the
next several days in the hospital. This is done using an antenna which can
broadcast signals to a tiny receiver within the shell of the pump. The
antenna is a hand held disk which rests on the surface of the skin over the
pump. It is connected to a portable computer which can read information
stored within the pump about the amount of drug present within its reservoir,
the rate at which it is delivering the drug and the concentration of the drug
as described by the physician when it was inserted into the pump. The
computer can then alter the delivery rate by sending new signals to the pump
via the antenna.
Any Questions?
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