On April 30, 1998, Micah had a baclofen pump inserted in his left side. On June 3rd he had to have the catheter re-inserted because it had worked its way out some how. He has been doing fine since then. The use of Baclofen has been extremely beneficial for Micah. It was suggested to us as a way to reduce Micah's spasticity which is very predominate and the cause of his hip problem. This is very common with kids with cerebral palsy. We also checked in to the possibility of a Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy, but Micah didn't fit the profile.

So how does it work? Some spasticity is due to the inability of the brain the release the chemical GABA into the spinal cord. Simply put, GABA relaxes the muscles. Baclofen (ITB) is a medication with almost the same chemical makeup as GABA and functions in the same way as GABA, relaxing muscles.

A pump? To be most affective Baclofen is slowly pumped into the spinal cord. Oral Baclofen is also available. A much larger dosage of the oral baclofen is needed which in turn  increases the risk and severity of side effects. The introduction of the baclofen pump greatly improves the benefits of the medicine because it inserts the medicine into the spinal cord where it is needed. A baclofen pump is inserted under the skin of the abdomen, a small tube is tunneled under the skin around to the back. There a smaller tube is inserted through a needle into the spinal fluid. The operation lasts approximately three hours.

Pump checkups. The pumps need to be checked and filled routinely, every one to three months, by medical professionals to ensure their effectiveness and proper dosage. The pumps batteries last up to five years, at which time the pump needs to be replaced.