Enjoying life to her full potential with cerebral palsy

For a month, Nikki Puzzo walked around with a hockey puck strapped to her torso. But this mother of two wasn’t just being silly or exhibiting her love of sports. Instead, she was demonstrating solidarity with her younger daughter, Stella. The little girl, who has spastic diplegia cerebral palsy (CP), had a device called a baclofen pump implanted into her abdomen. “I wanted her to feel more comfortable and know that she wasn’t alone,” explains Nikki. Targeting spasticity Like many kids with CP, Stella has spasticity, or severe tightness and stiffness, in her leg muscles. A medication called baclofen — typically taken orally — can help treat spasticity, but Nikki and her husband, Stephen, noticed that the drug had some unwanted side effects: Although it eased muscle contractions in Stella’s legs, it also loosened muscle tone in her abdomen, which was already relatively weak. As Dr. Brian Snyder and the rest of Stella’s care team in the Cerebral Palsy Center at Boston Children’s Hospital planned for an upcoming surgery to treat her hip dysplasia, they suggested that switching to a baclofen pump first might make her recovery go more smoothly. “The concept was a little scary,” Nikki admits. “But we knew it would have a greater benefit for her in the long run.” Three years later, the pump is paying off. “I like that the baclofen pump only affects the parts of her body that need the medicine,” says Nikki. “Because the device is internal, it’s e...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Diseases & Conditions Our Patients’ Stories baclofen pump cerebral palsy Cerebral Palsy Center Dr. Brian Snyder Dr. Donna Nimec Dr. Elizabeth Barkoudah Kristin Buxton Source Type: news