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Restore Movement and Control After Paralysis
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Is Paralysis Limiting Your Life?
Paralysis is the loss of voluntary movement that happens when communication between the brain, spinal cord, and muscles is disrupted. For some patients, muscles become stiff and tight, making every movement feel like a struggle; for others, the muscles are weak, floppy, and unable to respond at all.
These changes affect more than motion. They influence how you work, care for yourself, interact with loved ones, and move through the world. The goal of our Center is to pinpoint exactly where the communication breakdown has occurred and build a targeted plan that addresses not only the nerves, but also the muscles and joints involved.
You do not have to navigate this alone. Here’s who we help:
Patients with spastic paralysis after stroke, cerebral palsy, traumatic or anoxic brain injury, or certain spinal cord injuries.
Patients with flaccid paralysis after brachial plexus injury, peripheral nerve injury, or select spinal cord injuries.
Patients with a mixed pattern, where some muscles are stiff and others are weak or floppy in the same limb.
Children and adults who have tried therapy, bracing, and injections but still live with deformity, loss of function, or caregiving challenges.
People whose paralysis has led to joint contractures, limb deformity, or difficulty with positioning, hygiene, and daily care.
How Paralysis Develops and Why Timing Matters
Paralysis is not static. Without the right interventions, it follows a predictable path that can make treatment more complex over time.
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In spastic paralysis, loss of upper motor neuron control removes the brain’s braking system. Reflexes become overactive, leading to increased tone, muscle shortening, and eventually fixed joint contractures if not addressed.
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In flaccid paralysis, loss of nerve signal prevents muscles from contracting. Muscles weaken and atrophy, and joints can become stiff if they are not moved regularly.
Our team uses a structured progression model to guide treatment:
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Increased tone → addressed with nerve‑based procedures and injection management.
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Muscle shortening → addressed with muscle or tendon lengthening and focused therapy.
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Joint contracture → addressed with joint release procedures when the joint itself is stiff.
By treating only what is present—nerve, muscle, joint, or all three—we avoid overtreatment while still fully addressing the functional problem.
Advanced Procedures That Relieve Chronic Pain
These surgical options are always paired with intensive therapy before and after surgery to maintain motion, retrain movement patterns, and protect the reconstruction.
Why Patients Choose The Institute’s Paralysis Center
The Center for Surgical Treatment of Paralysis brings together a team uniquely equipped to manage complex spastic and flaccid paralysis:
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The Critical Role of
Therapy and Physiatry
Surgery is only one part of successful paralysis care. Physical and occupational therapy, guided by a physiatrist, are essential at every step.
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Therapy helps prevent joint stiffness, reduce muscle shortening, maintain mobility, and retrain the brain and muscles to use new nerve pathways after surgery.
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Custom splints and braces position limbs for comfort and function and protect surgical corrections during healing.
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Physiatry (PM&R) provides expert direction for therapy plans, prescribes medications, and offers targeted Botox or phenol injections to manage spasticity when appropriate.
We often describe joints as ‘hinges on a door’—they must keep moving to stay healthy, or they risk becoming stiff and limiting future reconstruction. Before we reanimate a limb with nerve or muscle surgery, we make sure those hinges are not “rusty.”
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Meet Our Paralysis Surgeons
Behind every successful reconstruction is a team that understands the complexity of nerve injury and the impact of paralysis on daily life. Our surgeons in the Center for Surgical Treatment of Paralysis offer options that are not widely available elsewhere.
Andrew Elkwood
Hamid Abdollahi
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Peter Andrawes
Beth Anglin
Gary Arishita
Russell Ashinoff
Sean Boutros
David Cabiling
Courtney Carpenter
Stephen Chagares
Eric I. Chang
Frank Ciminello
Kari L. Colen
Ryan Couvillion
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Joseph Dayan
Frank Dellacroce
George Dreszer
Stephen Dudick
Rodion Erenburg
Berry Fairchild
Adam Feintisch
Nicole Ferro
James Fletcher
Anton Fries
Amon-Ra Gama
Andrew Gassman
Patrick Greaney
Ritwik Grover
Edward Hahn
Sanaz Harirchian
Cassie Hartline
Sean Herman
Zuhaib Ibrahim
Hari Iyer
Priya Jadeja
Reza Jarrahy
Santosh Kale
Karen Kaplan
Matthew Kaufman
Ergun Kocak
Arjuna Kuperan
Chris Lakhiani
Peter Ledoux
Matthew Lynch
Tyler Merceron
Ahmed Nasser
Chet Nastala
Robert T. Nevitt III
Oscar Ochoa
William Ordoyne
Lauren Otaguro
Tushar Patel
Steven Pisano
Sidney Rabinowitz
Deepak Ramesh
David Rayfield
Rukmini Rednam
Michael Rose
Adam Saad
Nirvana Saraswat
Ali Seckin
Ajul Shah
Tzvi Small
Mohit Sood
Scott Sullivan
Pankaj Tiwari
Stephen Toran
Christopher Trahan
David Tsai
Hakan Usal
Eric Weiss
Jonathan Weiswasser
Lauren Whipple
Eric Wimmers
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Whitten Wise
Mary Jo Wright
Alex Xu
