Doctors transplanted a nerve from an amputated leg into an Italian’s paralyzed arm

In the Italian city of Turin, doctors transplanted a nerve from his partially amputated leg to a paralyzed arm.

“This is the first case of transferring part of the sciatic nerve to the brachial plexus“said surgeon Paolo Titolo, who participated in the operation, writes Reuters.

55-year-old medical worker Marcello Gavillo had half of his left leg amputated 5 months ago after a road accident. A man was hit by a motorcycle while riding a moped to work.

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According to the doctors, Gavillo suffered serious injuries to the brachial plexus, as well as his legs, due to which he could not use any of his hands.

55-year-old medical worker Marcello Gaviglio. Screenshot from Raajje MV video.

To restore mobility to one of his arms, surgeons decided to transfer part of the man’s sciatic nerve, which controlled movement of his amputated foot, to his brachial plexus, the network of nerves that connect the spinal cord to the shoulder, arm and hand.

Preparations for the operation, which was carried out on December 21, 2023, took almost half a year.

Nerve transfer surgery is not new, it said, but it has not previously involved moving a nerve that normally controls the foot to an area that controls the hand.

It is not yet known whether the man’s hand will work. Screenshot from Raajje MV video.

“We think this is a groundbreaking operation, because if it works, it would mean that the plasticity of the brain can control other parts of the body that we didn’t expect, and it would also open up new fields in neuroscience.”– noted Paolo Titolo.

We previously reported that doctors in Lviv saved four patients by transplanting them with organs from one posthumous donor.

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