Rhizotomy

Rhizotomy is a neurosurgical procedure that cuts problem nerve roots at the spinal cord, most often performed as a selective dorsal rhizotomy to treat spasticity in conditions such as spastic cerebral palsy. During the operation the surgeon tests each sensory nerve rootlet with electrical stimulation, grades how abnormal its response is on a scale from mild to severe, and cuts only the rootlets found to be driving the excessive muscle tone. Because spasticity in these patients results from a breakdown in the spinal cord's normal signals to muscles, cutting the overactive sensory nerves removes the abnormal stiffness and can reveal how much real muscle strength and control the patient actually has once the spasticity is gone.