Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy - SDRSelective Dorsal Rhizotomy is also called SDR.
It is a surgery to help to relax leg muscles and make it easier to bend your legs.
I am a patient - Tell me about SDR?
When muscles are not working well it can be hard for you to move your legs.
You might find it hard to move around and walk.
Your legs can also be in pain. It can make you trip or fall over.
It can also be hard to wear your leg splints or shoes.
You will meet with a physiotherapist. They will chat to you and do some tests on your muscles like watching you move and they will move your legs too.They will check your leg movements when you are lying down and do some leg stretches. They will lie you down and check leg movements and see how strong you are. They will also need to see you walking or how you get around.
If you use splints or a walker bring them along with you.
If you have any questions you can ask them.
It can take up to three hours to do all the tests. Bring along a toy, a drink and a snack. Wearing shorts is also smart to see your legs.
These tests help to decide if you will get help from having an SDR operation.
You will come to the hospital and meet the nurses and doctors with your carers. They will ask some questions and do some quick tests to check you are well.
You will meet the team who will come and see you and say hi. They will make sure you feel ok.
You might have to do a few more stretches and walks for the team.
You will meet the doctor who will look after you. You can ask any questions you like.
There is a room for playing on the ward with fun DVDs and computer Games to play with.
You will sleep on the ward that night. When you wake up you won’t be able to have breakfast. This is because your tummy must be empty to have the operation. The nurse and your Mum (or carer) will be with you until you are asleep.
The doctor will give care to your back when you are sleeping. This will make your legs more easy to move.
When you wake up your Mum (or carer) will come to meet you. You will have pad on your back. You will be have to stay in bed for two days.
After that the exercise team will come to visit you twice a day. You will go to the gym on most days and play lots of games to help make your muscles strong.
To start with walking and moving will be hard. You will work on making your muscles stronger.
You will be sleeping when you have the care on your back bone. You can have some pain medicine to make sure you feel better.
Your back might hurt a little bit. Your legs might not feel the same as before but this will get better quickly.
You might have to stay in the hospital for up to 3 weeks. You will be able to have someone stay with you.
It will soon be time to go home but the hard work doesn’t stop there.
You need to do your stretches and muscle movement every day. This will make your legs strong and make your walking better.
The team who you saw in hospital will want to see you again. They will want to know how you are doing. They will see you in 12 weeks then again 6 months after your operation.
You will come back to see some of the team as you get older. They will talk to you and ask how you are doing and do some muscle movement tests again.
