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DHR Health will now be offering a new procedure that helps stroke patients with hand and arm weakness during rehabilitation therapy.

Vivistim is a device that provides nerve stimulation to the vagus nerve, also called vagal nerve, that is implanted on the neck and chest on the left side of the body.

Dr. Juan Torres-Reveron, a neurosurgeon at DHR Health, explained Wednesday that during the procedure a surgeon will find the vagus nerve on the left side of the body and wrap the electrode of the device around the nerve.

That electrode is connected to a battery or generator that is then implanted on the left side of the chest just under the skin below the clavicle bone.

“It is very similar, in terms of surgery, to the vagal stimulators that we use for epilepsy except that the smart part about this device is that it works in tandem with physical therapy,” Torres-Reveron said, adding that the procedure takes about an hour to an hour-and-a-half.

Unlike the vagal nerve stimulator for epilepsy — which he explained is chronic, meaning it is always activated — the vagal nerve stimulator for stroke therapy is only activated during physical therapy.

“We think that this device, what it does, is it activates the nerve and it changes what are called neuromodulators up in the brain,” Torres-Reveron said. “Basically, it finds if you will, it activates certain modulation in the brain such that the neurons that are still there, those brain cells find a new pathway so that the patient recovers the activity and the function of the arm and hand.”

Torres-Reveron added that due to the function of the device it is only approved for ischemic stroke, which is when blood supply to the brain is blocked or reduced due to a clot

This is not approved for a hemorrhagic stroke which damages the brain tissues due to rupture vessels that bleed into the surrounding brain.

“You need to have active tissue still in that area, you still need to have that brain tissue available for it to change with the modulation of the device,” Torres-Reveron said.

Prior to this procedure those who experienced a stroke would go through months of physical therapy in hopes of regaining limb function.

Now with the help of the Vivistim device, clinical trials have shown consistent improvement in stroke patients.

“It’s a breath of fresh air to the therapist,” Torres-Reveron said. “When you put this and you actually do this in tandem we are finding that they are actually improving significantly.”

Torres-Reveron explained that after the procedure a patient will go to physical therapy three times a week for six weeks.

In that process the physical therapist will show the patient how to activate the device on their own so that they may do the training exercises at home with a specific magnet that is used to activate the device.

“It is that combination of activity that seems to improve patients that have not improved before with regular therapy,” Torres-Reveron said. “It modulates the brain to find new pathways to improve hand and arm function.”

The device, a permanent implant, can allow the patient to start and end rehab therapy and continue to see improvement at any time.

Those interested in seeing if they are a good candidate for the procedure can call the DHR Health Neuro Therapy Institute at (956) 362-6636.

The post Implant to aid Valley stroke patients reduce weakness amid therapy appeared first on MyRGV.com.