State-of-the-Art treatment for Isidre Esteve Pujol
By TMX Archives on 20th Apr 07
KTM rally rider Isidre Esteve Pujul of Spain has undergone surgery to insert a special electronic device to try to encourage nerve regeneration on his severe spinal injury, sustained during a recent high speed racing crash.
The 34-year old Spaniard was competing inthe Spanish all-terrain championships when the crash occurred, injuring the 7thand 8th vertebrae. He has already undergone one surgery to stabilize the injuredspine in the spinal unit at Vali d'Hebron hospital in Barcelona. He is presentlyparalyzed from the waist down.
KTM's Motor Sports Consultant and formermotocross world champion Heinz Kinigadner, who with Dietrich Mateschitz (CEO ofRed Bull) founded the Wings for Life Spinal Cord Research Foundation after hisown son was paralyzed in a motocross accident, was responsible for contactingexperts in the USA about the possible treatment.
US-based research on the new method hasrevealed positive results with testing in animal trials and clinical studieshave commenced with humans. Researchers agreed to the request from Wings fo rLife Foundation to fly a technician to Spain to advise doctors about theimplantation. Electrodes from the implanted device act as stimulators toencourage the regeneration of damaged nerves. It remains in place for a periodof 15 weeks. The process is very new and has only about an 8% chance of positiveresults but it is known to have no side effects.
The chances are small, but at least wefeel we have done everything possible to help Isidre at this stage, Kinigadnersaid.
The treatment must be carried out within18 days of the accident and was only possible at the very last minute, becauseIsidre was suffering from a stomach virus and running a high temperature. Recentstudies have shown that spinal cord injuries have an effect on the body's immunesystem.
We had the go-ahead for the surgery butthen Isidre's temperature went up and it had to be cancelled, Kinigadnerreported. Fortunately we got news that they could proceed the morning after,the final day that it would have been possible. Carlos Villaneuva, the head ofthe spinal unit expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the operation,according to Kinigadner.
Isidre is now out of bed and in a wheelchair and despite the seriousness of the situation he is in a positive mood,Kinigadner said. Last week he had a visit from Stefan Pierer, KTM's managingdirector and Pit Beirer, KTM Racing's offroad director. It was very inspiringfor him to see how well Pit manages his life. Beirer was himself paralyzed in amotocross accident in the summer of 2003.