New hope for nerve damage

Undoing Nerve Damage

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) – Today, a growing number of people suffer from neuropathy – a debilitating condition caused by nerve damage that can result in pain and numbness. Now, a recent medical breakthrough is giving patients with nerve damage a new lease on life.
After sustaining serious nerve damage at age 21, Dan Zuckerman never thought he’d be able to play the drums again. “The thought does cross my mind how easily things could have turned out so much differently,” he says.
As a college student pledging a fraternity, Zuckerman drank too much and passed out in a dangerous position for 18 hours. It affected the nerves in his neck as well as his knees. When someone finally found Zuckerman, he says he could move his fingers and toes but had no movement in his arm or leg. The pain Zuckerman experienced was unbearable, and he couldn’t walk correctly. He also had difficulty raising his left arm. “It was very scary,” he says.

Zuckerman eventually found his way to one of the few doctors in the country who performs peripheral nerve surgery – a procedure that eliminates pain by removing tissue around the nerves. This releases the tight space and decompresses the nerve, allowing it to function normally.

“You create extra space around the tight tunnel the nerve is going through by decompressing the nerve, and [the patients] regain the sensation,” says Ivica Ducic, M.D., Ph.D., chief of peripheral nerve surgery at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C. “Pins and needles go away.”
According to Dr. Ducic, the procedure is appropriate for patients with most types of neuropathy. Relief isn’t always immediate, but there is an 80 percent success rate with most patients over time. “There is a very solid percentage of population that are literally cured by surgery,” Dr. Ducic says.

Zuckerman saw an improvement in three months and is finally getting back to studying Russian and planning his future. “[After the surgery,] I was really able to say, ‘These nerves are starting to make a connection,’” he says.

Eight months after the surgery, Zuckerman had recovered to nearly 100 percent, regaining the ability to lift his arm and move his foot. “I’m extremely happy. I’m 100 percent functional,” he says. “I can do everything I want … I can live the life I want.”