Prof. Minkin at University Hospital St. Ivan Rilski in Bulgaria just put in the country's first baclofen pump, which is basically a hockey-puck-sized gadget that sits under your stomach skin and drips medication through a tiny tube straight to your spinal cord. The device helps people with gnarly spasticity from multiple sclerosis, spinal injuries, cerebral palsy, and some other conditions by delivering baclofen at way lower doses than oral meds while dodging brain side effects. The first patient was a 48-year-old woman with MS who tested positive for the treatment.
The pump doesn't make you stronger or help you walk again, but it cuts down on pain and weird positioning issues. Patients need a test lumbar puncture first to see if baclofen even works for them, and then a committee has to sign off. The whole surgery takes under an hour, and the national health insurance covers everything. Americans have been doing this for 40 years, with over 10,000 pumps placed yearly, but St. Ivan Rilski is the only spot in Bulgaria offering it right now.
The pump doesn't make you stronger or help you walk again, but it cuts down on pain and weird positioning issues. Patients need a test lumbar puncture first to see if baclofen even works for them, and then a committee has to sign off. The whole surgery takes under an hour, and the national health insurance covers everything. Americans have been doing this for 40 years, with over 10,000 pumps placed yearly, but St. Ivan Rilski is the only spot in Bulgaria offering it right now.
