Surgical techniques of selective dorsal rhizotomy for spastic cerebral palsy. Technical note

Selective dorsal rhizotomy is a well-established surgical procedure for improving lower-extremity spasticity in children with cerebral palsy. The standard technique requires an L1-S1 laminectomy or laminoplasty for visualization of all dorsal nerve roots exiting at their respective foramina. The authors describe a rhizotomy procedure that requires a single-level laminectomy at the level of the conus, with the advantages of decreased operating time and postoperative pain as well as a minimal risk of progressive lumbar instability. This procedure is both effective and well tolerated in appropriately selected children and adults, and has had one cerebrospinal fluid lead requiring operative repair in more than 1500 patients treated at the authors' institution since 1991.