For the treatment, Fidyka underwent brain surgery to remove an olfactory bulb, a structure responsible for the sense of smell. The bulb was placed in a cell culture for two weeks to produce olfactory cells, which were injected into the spinal cord along with four strips of nerve tissue taken from the ankle. The strips formed bridges for the spinal nerve fibers to grow across, with the aid of the cells.
Three months after the surgery, Fidyka’s left thigh muscle began to grow and after six months he was starting to walk within the rehabilitation center with the help of a physiotherapist and leg braces, according to UCL. His bladder sensation and sexual function have also improved.
“This technology has been confined to labs, so it’s promising to see that it may have helped someone recover from a clean cut through the spinal cord,” said Jeremy Fairbank, a professor of spine surgery at the University of Oxford who wasn’t involved in the research.