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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Surgery Done That Should Allow Reeve To Move Head But Prognosis Remains Poor For Any Dramatic Improvement

New York Times

Christopher Reeve on Monday underwent surgery that is expected to allow him to nod and shake his head, but doctors said no operation could give him movement below his neck.

The actor’s chief surgeon, Dr. John A. Jane of the University of Virginia here, said Reeve smiled when told the surgery to fuse two broken neck bones would allow him to raise his head. Jane said the paralyzed actor, who cannot talk or breathe without a machine, will wear a collar brace when he sits up.

“It went well, and he’s doing well now,” Jane said at a news conference on Monday afternoon. “He’s a wonderful patient. He’s so eager to be mobilized.”

On May 27, Reeve, 42, who played the title role in four “Superman” films, was thrown headlong from a horse during a competition 45 miles north of here, in Culpeper, Va. He lives in Westchester County, N.Y.

Jane said recovery from the surgery would take 10 days to two weeks. After that, doctors and relatives will determine where Reeve will be rehabilitated.

Of Monday’s operation, Jane said, “The procedure will have no effect on rapidity of recovery. It’s just preventing further damage.” He said bone from Reeve’s hip was placed between the shattered vertebrae.

Reeve can mouth words but cannot make sounds, the surgeon said.

The surgery lasted 6 1/2 hours, slightly longer than expected, Jane said. He did not know Reeve’s prognosis, he said, and the surgery revealed nothing more about the extent of the injury.

Specialists said injuries to the spinal cord, which carries signals between the brain and the body, are among the least treatable.

Dr. Kathryn A. Stolp-Smith, a spinal-cord specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., said of cases like Reeve’s, “The chance of dramatic, rapid improvement is poor.”