67 Year-Old Monmouth County Woman Receives Surgery to Relieve Pain & Restore Sensation in Leg

“In addition to the surgery providing immediate relief to the patient, postoperative discomfort is minimal, and results are long-lasting, almost never requiring a second procedure. The success of this procedure and its ability to improve a patient’s quality of life are truly remarkable – especially given the conventional belief that there isn’t an existing treatment for Neuropathy. As medical research and technological advancements further improve the field of diabetic neuropathy, ideally patients will undergo surgery before developing complications such as pain, ulcerations, and amputations.” Dr. Michael Rose

New Jersey Surgeon Performs Innovative Procedure to Alleviate Diabetes Symptoms

SHREWSBURY, NJ – April 29, 2004 – An innovative procedure to relieve the symptoms of neuropathy, a painful condition commonly associated with diabetes, was performed today at 7:30 a.m. Dr. Michael Rose, M.D., of the Plastic Surgery Center in Shrewsbury, NJ, performed the rare surgery called triple nerve decompression surgery at CentraState Medical Center in Freehold, NJ.

Triple nerve decompression surgery is performed to re-establish nerve function throughout an arm or leg in order to mitigate pain, restore feeling, and reduce the risk of amputation – commonly a result of diabetes. It is an outpatient procedure that involves three small incisions and lasts approximately an hour and a half. The surgery provides immediate results, including reduced pain and return of sensation. The procedure has an approximate 90 percent success rate in reducing pain and increasing sensation in properly selected patients and is covered by most insurance companies. Today’s procedure was performed on Marilyn Hecht, a patient with diabetes who suffered from pain and tingling sensations in her legs and feet. Preliminary tests had demonstrated that without surgical treatment, she was at an elevated risk for ulceration and amputation of her feet.

“In addition to the surgery providing immediate relief to the patient, postoperative discomfort is minimal, and results are long-lasting, almost never requiring a second procedure,” said Dr. Michael Rose. “The success of this procedure and its ability to improve a patient’s quality of life are truly remarkable – especially given the conventional belief that there isn’t an existing treatment for Neuropathy. As medical research and technological advancements further improve the field of diabetic neuropathy, ideally, patients will undergo surgery before developing complications such as pain, ulcerations, and amputations.”

Dr. A Lee Dellon, professor of plastic surgery and neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, developed triple nerve decompression surgery approximately 18 years ago and recently began teaching the technique to medical professionals around the country. Dr. Rose trained under Dr. Dellon and is one of 15 plastic surgeons in the country trained to perform the procedure. While the procedure is most often used to treat neuropathy from diabetes, it will relieve the symptoms of neuropathy from many other causes, such as alcoholism, lead poisoning, and chemotherapy.

Diabetes is the most common cause of neuropathy, eventually affecting approximately 60 percent of the 18 million diabetics in the U.S. Neuropathy is a nerve disorder resulting from a heightened blood sugar level, which among other things, causes nerves to swell. The swelling pinches the nerves in known “tunnels” that the nerves pass through and results in weakness, numbness, and pain in the hands and feet. As a result of the numbness, the patient is left unaware of blisters, cuts, and abrasions on the skin, particularly on the feet. Therefore, the wounds worsen as they remain uncared for, become infected, and often lead to amputation. On average, nearly 100,000 amputations are performed on diabetics per year.

About Dr. Rose

Based in Shrewsbury, NJ, Dr. Michael Rose is a Board-Certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon with a special interest in peripheral nerves. As part of the team at the Plastic Surgery Center, Dr. Rose and his partners are among the few doctors in the country to perform unique operations such as brachial plexus reconstruction, facial reanimation, nerve transplantation, and nerve grafting to preserve erectile function after prostate cancer. Dr. Rose has presented at national and international meetings and is a published author on the safety of cosmetic surgery, among other research papers and book chapters.

About CentraState Medical Center

CentraState Medical Center is a non-profit, 263-bed acute care hospital offering a wide range of minimally invasive procedures. It is a member of the Robert Wood Johnson Health Network and a clinical research affiliate of The Cancer Institute of New Jersey.