Cerebral Palsy Registry Sheds Light on Rhizotomy Surgeries
Dr. Brandon Rocque has participated in the structure and capture of rhizotomy surgeries in our CP registry since the founding of the network in 2015.
The Cerebral Palsy Research Network’s March MyCP Webinar will focus on practice variation in rhizotomy – a neurosurgical procedure to reduce challenges caused by spasticity – next Wednesday, March 19 at 8 pm ET. Dr. Brandon Rocque, a pediatric neurosurgeon at Children’s of Alabama, will present the findings from more than 500 rhizotomy surgeries that have been entered into our national CP registry from 12 different centers. Community members interested in the topic can sign up for the webinar with the form below or on our MyCP Webinar Series page.
Research questions about rhizotomy were fundamental to the initiation of the network back in 2015 while CP Research Network co-founder Paul Gross was trying to determine if the surgery was appropriate for his son after recommendation by an orthopedic surgeon. Dr. Rocque participated in the planning of surgical information capture to study neurosurgical interventions for CP that same year. Mr. Gross led a qualitative study — interviews of 45 physicians at 15 centers that treat CP — of practice variation in selective dorsal rhizotomy across North America in 2018 for which the results were detailed in a webinar several years ago. That study, and now the data from the registry, confirm that there is significant practice variation in who is recommended for rhizotomy regarding which patient characteristics and as well as how the surgery is performed. Dr. Rocque will also explain the difference between “selective dorsal rhizotomy” as a surgical technique versus the broader concept of “rhizotomy.”
Dr. Rocque will describe how the surgery is performed and what patient changes are sought. He will then describe what we know about differences in surgical technique and patient selection at sites across the network that share the details of their neurosurgeries in the registry. He will highlight study questions and care improvements that the network is considering in the light of this data. Dr. Rocque will be available for questions and answers at the conclusion of his remarks. The webinar will be recorded at available to subscribers to our YouTube channel within 24 hours after the webinar.
Click here to see Rhizotomy Surgeries
