SDR is a neurological procedure and as with any other operation has its benefits and risks. Parents are urged to research carefully the different facilities and to discuss the surgery with experienced professionals. It is also useful to discuss any concerns with families who have undergone surgery and as they know first hand the fears parents face in making this decision. Support4sdr Wales cannot provide advice on the suitability of patients for the surgery or recommend particular centres , but we can provide information on our experiences. You can follow us on FACEBOOK, where other families are also available to provide support. In addition, we have conducted a survey of patients which can be accessed HERE and provides information on the results of surgery from a family's perspective. Please read our parent survey HERE.
CENTRES OFFERING LIMITED LAMINECTOMY SDR
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St. Louis Children's Hospital, Missouri: The surgery is carried out by Dr T S Park who has over 20 years experience of SDR. Further details can be found HERE. The process for application to St. Louis is to first complete the patient evaluation form and once confirmation is received that you can move to the next stage, you will need send in x-rays and videos for the assessment. St. Louis will advise you on what exactly needs to be sent.
Frenchay Hospital, Bristol: The surgery is carried out by Consultant Paediatric Neurosurgeons Mr Ian Pople and Mr Richard Edwards, both of whom trained with Dr T S Park, and where possible they operate together. The team at Bristol support the longest running limited laminectomy approach SDR Service in the UK. Further details can be found HERE Leeds: The operation is performed by Mr John Gooden, who trained under Dr Park and is the Consultant Paediatric Neurosurgeon at Leeds General Hospital. Further details can be found HERE. |
Nottingham: The operation is performed by Mr Michael Vloeberghs who has many years of experience of working with children with cerebral palsy. No website exists for Nottingham University hospital for SDR, but Mr Vloebergh's information can be found HERE. We suggest contacting the hospital directly for further information if Nottingham is of interest. Our understanding from patient feedback is that unlike other centres there is no inpatient physiotherapy programme post surgery. This may be changing with the Commissioning through Evaluation study coming in.
Alder Hay, Liverpool: Alder Hay have operated on an adult patient and therefore this may be an option worth exploring for patients older than the criteria set for other hospitals. The hospital is also part of the Commissioning through Evaluation process so will be taking children aged 3-10. Further information can be found HERE Great Ormond Street: The operation is performed by Mr Kristian Aquilina, the first surgeon to perform the surgery in the UK and trained by Dr T S Park. Mr Aquilina started SDR at Bristol Frenchay before moving to GOSH. Further information about SDR at GOSH can be found HERE. |
The process for evaluation for all UK hospitals starts with a referral by one of your child's medical professionals such as a paediatrician. On 17 July 2014 the NHS in England announced that it would be funding around 120 patients per year to have SDR at one of the 5 English hospitals above. We understand that children that are accepted as likely to benefit, but who are not included in this number, will be able to self-fund. We believe that a small number (5 or 6) Welsh children will be included in addition to the 120, and are awaiting further details of this from the Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee. For more information see HERE.
Dr Park and his team explain the benefits and experiences of SDR whilst visiting the UK in 2013 for a celebration party for the children
This website only covers the form of SDR known as limited laminectomy. This technique was developed by Dr T S Park and is the version carried out in St. Louis and all but one of the UK centres.
