Good and bad news

Surgery a success, but Chinese gymnast unlikely to walk

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Posted: Sunday July 26, 1998 06:14 PM

Sang's surgery involved placing three titanium plates with screws in her neck to stabilize a section of her spine AP

EAST MEADOW, N.Y. (AP) - The Chinese gymnast paralyzed in a fall at the Goodwill Games was able to sit up Sunday after successful spinal surgery, but doctors repeated that she probably would never walk again.

After the seven-hour operation Saturday to rebuild her upper spine, Sang Lan regained some strength in her shoulders and biceps, said Dr. Vincent Leone, director of spinal surgery at Nassau County Medical Center. But there was no immediate improvement in mobility in her hands, wrists and legs, he said.

The operation, which stabilized her spine, allowed Sang, 17, to sit up in bed, something that was impossible before the surgery, said Leone.

Given the complexity of the injury and the healing process, it was too soon to say how quickly the gymnast would progress and what her final prognosis would be, he said, adding that it was unlikely she would ever walk again. He made the same statement on Wednesday, the day after the accident.

Sang, the 1997 Chinese national vault champion, struck the mat with her head after missing a simple vault during practice.

The goal of Saturday's surgery was to stabilize Sang's spine by screwing three titanium plates into the injured section of her neck. Surgeons also removed broken bone fragments and used bits of bone from her left hip to fuse vertebrae.

"The implants basically prevent her head from falling off her shoulders," Leone said.

Sang also is being treated with an experimental nerve drug that doctors said was her only hope of walking again. But it was to early to say if the drug, which provides the building blocks for nerves to repair themselves, was working, Leone said.

Sang's parents, who arrived from China just hours after the surgery, were driven from Kennedy Airport to the hospital and did not speak to reporters. They plan to give a news conference in the next several days, said hopital spokeswoman Shelley Lotenberg.

Sang will have to stay at the hospital for at least a week, and her parents have not decided whether to continue her treatment here or move her back home.

Before her parents left China, Sang's saddened friends made 1,000 paper birds for the couple to take with them - symbols of their wishes for a quick recovery.

Sang's parent's rarely saw their only child, who was chosen for national-team training when she was 11. Since then, her parents have seen her only three times, most recently in October, while she trained in Beijing, 740 miles (1,190 kilometers) from home.

Physicians and others who visited Sang on Sunday said that she was in high spirits.

"This young lady did not stop talking," said Nassau County Executive Thomas Gulotta. "Her spirit was uplifting. You had to be encouraged to be in her presence."

Gulotta said Sang asked to watch the Goodwill Games on Sunday night and the hospital would arrange a special TV feed for her.

Goodwill Games spokesman Michael Lewellen reiterated an earlier pledge by the event's sponsor, Turner Sports, and its parent company, Time-Warner Inc., to provide all possible resources to secure the family's future. Details had yet to be finalized, he said.

"The family has only been here for a few hours," he said. "They haven't had the opportunity to state their wishes."

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Gymnast undergoes successful surgery Paralyzed gymnast's parents begin sad journey to her bedside Gymnast fights on, awaits parents Doctor: Gymnast unlikely to walk again Chinese gymnast paralyzed 1998 Goodwill Games Gynmastics Coverage
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