第2068期:Italian Man Might Gain Use of Hand after Nerve Operation

A man in Italy might regain the use of his hand after having a new kind of medical operation. 

意大利的一名男子在接受新型医疗手术后可能会重新使用自己的手。 

Doctors in northern Italy said the surgery used a nerve from the man’s partly amputated leg to repair a damaged nerve in his hand. His hand became paralyzed after a severe driving accident. 

意大利北部的医生表示，手术使用了该男子部分截肢腿的神经来修复手部受损的神经。一次严重的车祸后，他的手瘫痪了。 

Surgeons at Turin City Hospital took part of the man's sciatic nerve from his leg. That is the nerve which helps control movement in the foot. The doctors transferred part of the man’s sciatic nerve to his brachial plexus. That is a network of nerves connecting the spinal cord to the shoulder, arm, and hand. 

都灵市医院的外科医生从该男子的腿上切除了部分坐骨神经。这是帮助控制足部运动的神经。医生将这名男子的部分坐骨神经转移到臂丛神经。这是连接脊髓与肩膀、手臂和手的神经网络。 

"It’s the first time that someone [has transferred] a component of the sciatic nerve to the brachial plexus," said Paolo Titolo. He was one of the surgeons who performed the operation. He recently spoke with Reuters news agency. 

“这是第一次有人将坐骨神经的一个组成部分转移到臂丛神经，”保罗·蒂托洛说。他是进行手术的外科医生之一。他最近接受了路透社的采访。

The patient is Marcello Gaviglio, a 55-year-old healthcare worker. He had half of his left leg amputated after he was hit by a motorbike five months ago. The accident happened while he was travelling to work on his small, motorized bike called a moped. 

患者是 55 岁的医护人员马塞洛·加维利奥 (Marcello Gaviglio)。五个月前，他被摩托车撞倒，左腿半截被截肢。事故发生在他骑着他的小型机动自行车（轻便摩托车）去上班时。 

He suffered serious injuries to his brachial plexus as well as his leg. The damage to his upper body left him unable to use both of his hands. 

他的臂丛神经和腿部都受到了严重伤害。他上半身的损伤使他无法使用双手。 

Because the part of the sciatic nerve that controlled his left foot was no longer needed, it could be transferred to the shoulder area. On December 21, doctors carried out the operation. They hope it will give him the ability to use his left hand. 

因为控制左脚的那部分坐骨神经不再需要，可以转移到肩部区域。12月21日，医生进行了手术。他们希望这能让他能够使用左手。 

Gaviglio will need about five months of special care after the operation. For now, he is still unable to move the hand at all. 

手术后加维利奥将需要大约五个月的特殊护理。目前，他的手还根本无法动弹。 

Nerve transfer surgery is not new. But normally it does not involve moving a nerve that controls the foot to an area that controls the hand. For that reason, doctors involved in the operation are calling it “pioneering.” 

神经转移手术并不新鲜。但通常它不涉及将控制脚的神经移动到控制手的区域。因此，参与该手术的医生称其为“开创性”。 

"We think this is pioneering surgery because if it works it means that the brain plasticity can control … other parts of the body that we didn't expect,” Titolo said. He added that the surgery opens new fields in nerve studies. 

蒂托洛说：“我们认为这是开创性的手术，因为如果它有效，就意味着大脑可塑性可以控制……我们没有预料到的身体其他部位。”他补充说，这项手术开辟了神经研究的新领域。 

The aim is to restore "some grasp function" to the hand. That means the ability to hold objects. Titolo explained that this can help the other hand to do things. 

目的是恢复手的“某些抓握功能”。这意味着持有物体的能力。蒂托洛解释说，这可以帮助另一只手做事。 

The operation was the result of four years of research. It was published in the medical journal Injury. 

该手术是四年研究的结果。它发表在医学杂志《Injury》上。 

Gaviglio, the patient, said he had given little thought to the pioneering part of the operation. He said he just felt that there was a chance for a good result. He said he thought about depending on a “team of very good doctors” and being able to move his hand again “a little bit.” 

患者加维利奥表示，他几乎没有考虑过手术的开创性部分。他说他只是觉得有机会取得好成绩。他说，他考虑过依靠“非常好的医生团队”，并能够再次“稍微”活动一下自己的手。