Innovative procedure allows children with cerebral palsy to walk

There is a new tendon-release procedure that helps children walk after suffering cerebral palsy. Many children with cerebral palsy are bound to a wheelchair because their muscles are so tight that their knees stay bent, according to ABC's local affiliate in Houston. A new procedure uses tiny pokes to loosen and lengthen tight tendons. Dr. David Yngve of the University of Texas-Medical Branch is the leader in developing this procedure. "It allows some of the tougher tightness to be cut and some of the muscle underneath can actually stretch out," he told the news source. Usually the muscles stretch out enough to allow the child to walk. Such was the case with Savannah Spencer, a little girl from Tennessee, who had the procedure done. "At the age of 10, for the first time in her life, she's able to independently stand up, walk across the room and do some things on her own," her mother, Tracey Spencer, said. Dr. Yngve has performed 300 of these minimally-invasive procedures and says that 90 percent of them have been successful. According to the March of Dimes, two to three children in every 1,000 have cerebral palsy.