Surgery gets Ridgefield boy, 5, with cerebral palsy movingSubscriber Exclusive

Archer Seifried’s parents noticed early on that their son’s development wasn’t matching what they had observed in his older sister.

“We saw he wasn’t walking properly,” said his dad, Ridgefield resident Brett Seifried. “We tried physical therapy before we knew it was cerebral palsy.”

Archer received his diagnosis when he was just over a year old. Cerebral palsy refers to a group of disorders that affect a person’s ability to move, as well as maintain balance and posture. It’s the most common motor disability among children, affecting 1 in 345, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Yet one of the most promising treatments, a surgery that works best between ages 3 to 6, isn’t something many parents — or even doctors — realize is available.

At first, Archer received Botox shots, which can temporarily relax the muscle stiffness (known as spasticity) that makes movement difficult for those with cerebral palsy. Archer also had casts on his legs for a while, his dad said.

After trying these temporary measures, Archer’s doctor in Portland mentioned the possibility of a surgery that, while not a cure for cerebral palsy, would permanently reduce the boy’s spasticity.

Archer was still young, and his cerebral palsy affected mostly his lower body, which made him a good candidate for the surgery, called selective dorsal rhizotomy.

Archer, now 5, underwent the procedure in May 2022 at Seattle Children’s hospital.

“The concept for this surgery has been around for a long time, probably 80 years,” said his neurosurgeon, Dr. Samuel Browd. “The surgery is very safe and very effective.”

Today it can be done as a minimally invasive procedure requiring a small incision the back, Browd said.

“What happens with kids with cerebral palsy is, the signals from the brain are altered and not going down the spinal cord as they should to modulate the reflexes,” Browd said. “We test the individual nerves and see if it reacts abnormally. We cut about 50 percent of the abnormal sensory nerves to disrupt this loop.”

According to Seattle Children’s, it’s the only pediatric hospital in the Pacific Northwest to provide selective dorsal rhizotomy to help kids gain mobility.

“We’ve been training people from around the world,” Browd said.

The surgery is a good option for children who have spastic cerebral palsy in the lower body and meet certain criteria, but the perfect timing is age 4, Browd said. He’s frustrated that many children who could be helped aren’t even given the option because their doctors aren’t aware it’s available.

“Folks just don’t know about the procedure,” Browd said. “It sounds scary that we’re doing neurosurgery … rather than physical therapy or medication.”

For the children who have the surgery, it’s life changing, Browd said. For example, they do better in school.

“It’s not that we made them smarter,” Browd said. “We made it so they can pay attention to school instead of having to pay attention to their body.”

The surgery is followed by weeks of inpatient physical therapy and then months of continued rehabilitation back home.

Brett Seifried stayed with Archer at Seattle Children’s while his wife, Christina, stayed home in Ridgefield with their daughter, Brooke, now 6.

Archer had to lay flat for three full days after the surgery, Brett Seifried said. The pair stayed at the hospital for five weeks for Archer to do hours of physical and occupational therapy every day.

“Kids can leave in a wheelchair or walker,” Brett Seifried said. “Archie dressed up in a Captain America costume and walked out of there.”

The surgery made a huge difference for Archer.

“Before the surgery, I had to watch him to make sure he didn’t fall over. I constantly had to make sure he was safe,” his dad said.

Although Archer still falls every so often, and still wears braces on his legs, he has much more control of his body. On a recent Sunday he went straight from swimming lessons to Salmon Creek TOPSoccer practice, where he ran around kicking a bright orange ball, a grin on his face.

“He can play with his sister more. He’s come out of his shell at school,” Brett Seifried said. “He’s just one of the kids now.”