Selective posterior rhizotomy for spastic cerebral palsy. A review.

Selective posterior rhizotomy (SPR) is a neurosurgical procedure designed to alleviate spasticity in cerebral palsy. SPR depends on intraoperative monitoring of the electromyogram in conjunction with a careful preoperative assessment prior to the division of certain posterior nerve rootlets within the spinal canal. SPR is important to orthopedists, who are frequently called on to evaluate spastic patients. An outline of the physiology and clinical background of SPR is essential for an understanding of present efforts to alleviate spasticity.