UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI/JACKSON DOCTORS PERFORM THE WORLD’S FIRST NERVE GRAFT USING A PATIENT’S OWN CELLS TO TRY TO REPAIR A SEVERE PERIPHERAL NERVE INJURY

Danielle Press; her parents, Lourdes Mangas and Charles Press, Key Biscayne Police Chief; Dr. Allan Levi, UM/Jackson neurosurgeon; Dr. Gabriel Ruiz, UM/Jackson trauma surgeon; Dr. Fernando Villela, UM/Jackson orthopaedic surgeon

Danielle Press, 26, suffered life-threatening injuries in a boating accident off the coast of Key Biscayne on September 14, 2013. She was rushed to Ryder Trauma Center at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center with several deep, lacerating injuries to her upper leg. Trauma surgeons immediately operated on Danielle, who had lost a lot of blood and nearly died. 
 
Doctors discovered that the sciatic nerve in her left leg, which controls the majority of movement and sensation in the leg, had been completely cut and separated. Danielle, a college graduate who has traveled extensively in Asia teaching English, was told that she may never regain any feeling or movement in her leg as a result of the injury. Repairing the sciatic nerve – the largest nerve in the human body – presents one of the most difficult challenges in nerve surgery, particularly when a significant gap exists, as was the case with Danielle.
 
Dr. Allan Levi, a UM/Jackson neurosurgeon, considered traditional nerve grafting, but felt that Danielle may have a better outcome with alternative treatment options, such as using her own Schwann cells expanded in number using cell culture techniques. Schwann cells are involved in many important aspects of peripheral nerve biology, including the conduction of nervous impulses along axons, nerve development and regeneration. Dr. Levi and his team are leading an FDA approved Phase 1 clinical trial as part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine’s Miami Project to Cure Paralysis using a patient’s own Schwann cells for acute spinal cord injuries. Pre-clinical work suggested that the use of Schwann cells could also be beneficial in Danielle’s unique case.
 
Dr. Levi obtained approval from the FDA for this procedure to combine standard nerve grafting with autologous human Schwann cells, with a goal of providing Danielle with an opportunity to maximize nerve regeneration and restoration of function. On October 14, Dr. Levi performed a nerve graft on Danielle using a combination of her own nerve and her own Schwann cells. This world’s first procedure was done at Jackson Memorial Hospital.
 
Danielle and her medical team will speak about this groundbreaking medical procedure at a news conference.

October

29, 2013, 1:00 p.m.- 2:00 p.m.

Jackson Memorial Hospital
Clark Diagnostic Treatment Center, Room 252
Corner of Northwest 12th Avenue and 19th Street
Miami, FL 33136

Media can park in front of the DTC.