Top Doctors 2010: Risky Surgery Helps Preteen Walk

This year, for the first time ever, Janet Scanlon was able to go trick-or-treating without her parents. It was a large feat for the sixth grader who, in 2008, underwent a life-changing surgery to help with her cerebral palsy.

Janet was diagnosed with the neurological disorder at age 2 after her mother, Yo Burgess, noticed she was walking on her toes. Burgess and her husband, Bob Scanlon, took Janet to Gillette’s Minnetonka clinic, where a team of doctors attended to Janet. That team would eventually include Dr. Marshall Taniguchi. “We just love him,” Burgess says. “He has been wonderful to us.”

When Janet was 5, Taniguchi helped assess her for a surgery called selective dorsal rhizotomy, an irreversible procedure that involves cutting nerve rootlets with abnormal reflexes. The team of doctors decided Janet’s cerebral palsy was too mild for the risky surgery, but she continued to receive Botox to help her movement and casting to lengthen her muscles.

Taniguchi, meanwhile, continued to follow Janet’s progress as she grew. When she reached age 10, he became worried about her continued muscle tightness and problems with falling. His recommendation? The risky surgery. Janet’s parents, while reluctant, were on board. “We were scared to death of that suggestion,” says Burgess. “There’s no turning back.” But Janet’s prognosis, along with a growth spurt and new information revealing that it took her twice as much energy to move as it took other people, convinced the family. “At first I didn’t want to do it, but I learned it was okay,” says Janet. And the family trusted Taniguchi. “He is on top of everything and trusts his team,” says Burgess.

After undergoing surgery in 2008, Janet was out of the hospital in a little more than three weeks. “Janet was probably one of our quickest inpatient hospitalizations,” says Taniguchi. She needed therapy to re-learn how to walk, but she made quick progress. Since the surgery, Janet has run two 5k races and participates in archery, swimming, wheelchair basketball, and track and field at the Courage Center. “She’s definitely our most active child,” says Burgess, who has two other daughters. “And most important, she just has so much more confidence.”