ABSTRACT
Cerebral palsy is the term chosen to describe a heterogeneous group of non-progressive syndromes of posture and motor impairment that result from perinatal insults to the developing central nervous system (1). Cerebral palsy is an important neurological disorder and represents the most common cause of severe physical disability in childhood (2). The predominant types of cerebral palsy are classified as spastic, athetoid-dyskinetic, ataxic, hypotonic, or mixed. In recent years there have been a number of advances in the understanding of predisposing and protective factors in the development of cerebral palsy in infants (3). Opportunities for prevention of cerebral palsy may develop from an improved understanding of etiologic factors and their mechanisms of operation. Similar progress has been made in the evaluation of treatments for cerebral palsy and the effects of these treatments on the individual’s impairment, function, and disability. Selective posterior rhizotomy has become a widely used neurosurgical technique for the treatment of lower extremity spasticity in children with cerebral palsy. The procedure aims to relieve the velocity-dependent hypertonicity, predominantly seen in the lower limbs, and to improve motor function in ambulatory children or younger children with emerging locomotor function.
