KTM rally rider Isidre Esteve Pujul of Spain has undergone surgery to insert a special electronic device to try to encourage nerve regeneration on his severe spinal injury, sustained during a recent high speed racing crash. The 34-year old Spaniard was competing in the Spanish all-terrain championships when the crash occurred, injuring the 7th and 8th vertebrae. He has already undergone one surgery to stabilize the injured spine in the spinal unit at Vali d’Hebron hospital in Barcelona. He is presently paralyzed from the waist down.
KTM’s Motor Sports Consultant and former motocross world champion Heinz Kinigadner, who with Dietrich Mateschitz (CEO of Red Bull) founded the Wings for Life Spinal Cord Research Foundation after his own son was paralyzed in a motocross accident, was responsible for contacting experts in the USA about the possible treatment.
US-based research on the new method has revealed positive results with testing in animal trials and clinical studies have commenced with humans. Researchers agreed to the request from Wings fo r Life Foundation to fly a technician to Spain to advise doctors about the implantation. Electrodes from the implanted device act as stimulators to encourage the regeneration of damaged nerves. It remains in place for a period of 15 weeks. The process is very new and has only about an 8% chance of positive results but it is known to have no side effects.
“The chances are small, but at least we feel we have done everything possible to help Isidre at this stage,” Kinigadner said.
The treatment must be carried out within 18 days of the accident and was only possible at the very last minute, because Isidre was suffering from a stomach virus and running a high temperature. Recent studies have shown that spinal cord injuries have an effect on the body’s immune system.
“We had the go-ahead for the surgery but then Isidre’s temperature went up and it had to be cancelled,” Kinigadner reported. “Fortunately we got news that they could proceed the morning after, the final day that it would have been possible”. Carlos Villaneuva, the head of the spinal unit expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the operation, according to Kinigadner.
“Isidre is now out of bed and in a wheel chair and despite the seriousness of the situation he is in a positive mood,” Kinigadner said. “Last week he had a visit from Stefan Pierer, KTM’s managing director and Pit Beirer, KTM Racing’s offroad director. It was very inspiring for him to see how well Pit manages his life.” Beirer was himself paralyzed in a motocross accident in the summer of 2003.
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