Italian Man Might Regain Use of Hand after Nerve Operation

Italian Man Might Regain Use of Hand after Nerve Operation

意大利男子在神经手术后可能恢复手部功能

【听力音频】

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　　By Anna Matteo

　　08 January 2024

　　A man in Italy might regain the use of his hand after having a new kind of medical operation.

　　Doctors in northern Italy said the surgery used a nerve from the man's partly amputated leg to repair a damaged nerve in his hand. His hand became paralyzed after a severe driving accident.

　　Surgeons at Turin City Hospital took part of the man's sciatic nerve from his leg. That is the nerve which helps control movement in the foot. The doctors transferred part of the man's sciatic nerve to his brachial plexus. That is a network of nerves connecting the spinal cord to the shoulder, arm, and hand.

　　"It's the first time that someone [has transferred] a component of the sciatic nerve to the brachial plexus," said Paolo Titolo. He was one of the surgeons who performed the operation. He recently spoke with Reuters news agency.

　　The patient is Marcello Gaviglio, a 55-year-old healthcare worker. He had half of his left leg amputated after he was hit by a motorbike five months ago. The accident happened while he was travelling to work on his small, motorized bike called a moped.

　　He suffered serious injuries to his brachial plexus as well as his leg. The damage to his upper body left him unable to use both of his hands.

　　Because the part of the sciatic nerve that controlled his left foot was no longer needed, it could be transferred to the shoulder area. On December 21, doctors carried out the operation. They hope it will give him the ability to use his left hand.

　　Gaviglio will need about five months of special care after the operation. For now, he is still unable to move the hand at all.

　　Nerve transfer surgery is not new. But normally it does not involve moving a nerve that controls the foot to an area that controls the hand. For that reason, doctors involved in the operation are calling it "pioneering."

　　"We think this is pioneering surgery because if it works it means that the brain plasticity can control ... other parts of the body that we didn't expect," Titolo said. He added that the surgery opens new fields in nerve studies.

　　The aim is to restore "some grasp function" to the hand. That means the ability to hold objects. Titolo explained that this can help the other hand to do things.

　　The operation was the result of four years of research. It was published in the medical journal Injury.

　　Gaviglio, the patient, said he had given little thought to the pioneering part of the operation. He said he just felt that there was a chance for a good result. He said he thought about depending on a "team of very good doctors" and being able to move his hand again "a little bit."

　　I'm Anna Matteo.

　　Alex Fraser reported this story from Turin, Italy. Anna Matteo adapted this story for VOA Learning English.

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　　作者：Anna Matteo

　　2024年1月8日

　　一名意大利男子在接受一种新型医疗手术后，可能会恢复他的手部功能。

　　意大利北部的医生表示，手术使用了这名男子部分截肢的腿部的神经来修复他手部的受损神经。他的手在一次严重的驾驶事故后瘫痪了。

　　都灵市医院的外科医生从他的腿部取出了部分坐骨神经。这是帮助控制脚部运动的神经。医生们将这名男子的坐骨神经的一部分移植到了他的臂丛。臂丛是连接脊髓和肩部、手臂和手的神经网络。

　　"这是第一次有人将坐骨神经的一部分移植到臂丛，" Paolo Titolo说。他是执行这次手术的外科医生之一。他最近接受了路透社的采访。

　　病人是马塞洛·加维格利奥，一名55岁的医疗工作者。五个月前，他在骑着一种叫做摩托车的小型机动车去上班的路上被一辆摩托车撞到，导致他的左腿被截去一半。

　　他的臂丛和腿部都受到了严重的伤害。上半身的损伤使他无法使用双手。

　　由于控制他左脚的坐骨神经部分不再需要，所以可以将其移植到肩部区域。12月21日，医生们进行了手术。他们希望这将使他能够使用左手。

　　手术后，加维格利奥需要大约五个月的特殊护理。目前，他仍然无法移动手部。

　　神经移植手术并不新鲜。但通常情况下，这种手术并不涉及将控制脚部的神经移动到控制手部的区域。因此，参与这次手术的医生称其为“开创性的”。

　　"我们认为这是一种开创性的手术，因为如果它成功，那就意味着大脑的可塑性可以控制...我们原本未曾预料到的身体其他部位，"Titolo说。他补充说，这种手术为神经研究开辟了新的领域。

　　手术的目标是恢复手部的"一些抓握功能"。也就是说，能够握住物体的能力。Titolo解释说，这可以帮助另一只手进行操作。

　　这次手术是四年研究的结果。它已经在医学期刊《Injury》上发表。

　　病人Gaviglio表示，他对手术的开创性部分并没有过多思考。他说他只是觉得有一个好结果的机会。他说他想到的是依赖一支"非常优秀的医生团队"，并能够再次"稍微"移动他的手。

　　我是Anna Matteo。

　　Alex Fraser从意大利都灵报道了这个故事。Anna Matteo为VOA学英语改编了这个故事。

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　　在这个故事中的词汇：

　　surgery –n. 医疗操作

　　amputate –v. 为了救治病人，从身体上移除一个肢体，如手臂或腿

　　paralyzed –adj. 无法移动

　　transfer –v. 从一个地方移动到另一个地方

　　component –n. 大型设备或系统的一部分

　　pioneering –adj.首次做某事或使用新思想；在进行某项活动中属于最早的人群

　　plasticity –n. 能够被改变成不同形态的特性