New technique in tricky surgery giving Jordan a new lease on life

Six-year-old Jordan King is well on his way to being able to walk and possibly even run as the first patient to undergo a new operation at the Queensland Children’s Hospital.

Six-year-old Jordan King is well on his way to being able to walk and possibly even run as the first patient to undergo a new operation at the Queensland Children’s Hospital.

The Townsville boy was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at the age of one and is recovering from selective dorsal rhizotomy surgery (SDR) which releases the spasticity in his leg muscles.

But the procedure is now new and improved, is less invasive, less painful and allows quicker recovery.

“Jordan is recovering well. The size of the incision at the surgical site of the spine has decreased, so there’s less dissection of muscular tissue and therefore the procedure is potentially less painful,” QCH neurosurgeon Norman Ma told The Courier-Mail.

Brave little battler Jordan is putting in a lot of hard work into his rehabilitation to achieve his goal of taking independent steps and will continue the program in his home town.

Mother Ashlee said: “So far Jordy is smashing all the goals.

“It is pretty tricky surgery and it will give him a better quality of life and for that we will be forever grateful to the doctors at the children’s hospital.

Jordan King, 6, is one of the first in the state to undergo a less invasive procedure to release spasticity in his leg muscles. Picture: Steve Pohlner

“The hope is that he will be able to walk by himself. He will have five sessions of physical therapy a week.”

Jordan’s twin brother Alex, who also has cerebral palsy, has not yet qualified for the surgery.

A small number of children in Australia are assessed as suitable for the procedure each year.

A multidisciplinary team of specialists work closely with families when determining if their child is a suitable candidate for SDR.

This is based on a thorough assessment of their child’s condition as well as their ability to participate in intensive therapy over several months.

As SDR is an irreversible procedure, it is important to ensure that it is the best option for a child at their current stage of development.

“The Queensland Children’s Hospital follows evidence-based guidelines when performing laminoplasty intraoperative electrophysiology (selective dorsal rhizotomy) surgery with the goal of always delivering the best and safest outcome for a child,” Dr Ma said.

One in 700 children in Australia are diagnosed with cerebral palsy annually and it is the most common physical disability in childhood.