Over the past half century there have been few therapeutic breakthroughs for the treatment of spinal cord\r\ninjuries. It has been previously shown that following a Spinal Cord Injury (SCI), scar tissue develops at the site of\r\ninjury through which axons are unable to penetrate to make appropriate neurological connections into the distal\r\nspinal cord. Over the past few years it has been reported that placing the omentum directly on a traumatized spinal\r\ncord can result in a favorable clinical result. The omentum has been shown to limit the development of scar tissue\r\nfollowing SCI, which strongly suggests that omental transposition to an SCI now appears warranted to justify a\r\ncarefully controlled evaluation of the benefits of omental application to an SCI.\r\n\r\nSpinal cord injuries are devastating events. Unfortunately, in spite of improved medical and surgical treatment\r\nof the condition, there has not been a significant improvement in the neurological results of these injuries during\r\nthe past half century. The purpose of this paper is to suggest a surgical technique that might increase functional\r\nimprovement in the future treatment of spinal cord injuries (SCI). A new approach to the problem seems warranted.\r\n\r\nOver a hundred years ago, Ramon y Cajal, the famous neuro-histologist, stated that axons are unable to\r\nconnect to neural structures distal to an SCI based on his observations that axons cannot penetrate through scar\r\ntissue which routinely develops at the site of an SCI [1]. A half century later, Dr. L.H. Freeman, confirmed Cajalââ?¬â?¢s\r\nobservations by showing that axons had the inherent capacity to grow distally within an injured spinal cord (SC),\r\nbut their progress routinely encountered a scar barrier in which axons ââ?¬Å?simply form neuromata at the injury siteââ?¬Â [2].\r\nBased on these observations, if neuro-protection within an SCI is to be addressed, laboratory and clinical efforts\r\nshould be increasingly aimed at preventing the development of scar tissue in an acute SCI and decreasing the scar\r\nbarrier present in a chronic SCI.
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