The doctor treating Christopher Reeve says it's too early to talk about the actor's chances for recovery from a horse-riding accident that broke his neck and left him paralyzed. Other experts said the prognosis for such patients is poor.
Reeve, 42, who cannot breathe on his own, broke the top two vertebrae in his neck and injured his spinal cord in a headlong fall Saturday, said Dr. John A. Jane, chief of the University of Virginia neurosurgery department."He may require surgery to stabilize the upper spine in the near future," Jane said Wednesday.
Reeve's condition remained serious but stable Thursday, a hospital spokesman said. The actor's publicist, Lisa Kasteler, said Wednesday that Reeve was conscious and had been able to communicate with relatives.
Ironically, the "Superman" actor recently played a paralyzed man in a television film. "Above Suspicion," shown last week on HBO, is about a policeman hit in the spine by a bullet who later recovers from his paralysis and gets away with murder.
In an interview made earlier and broadcast Wednesday on "Hard Copy," Reeve said he visited a hospital to prepare for the role. "A couple of days spent out at the spinal cord trauma unit and you see how easily it can happen," Reeve said. "You think, God, it could happen to anybody."
Jane said it was premature to talk about Reeve's outlook. Another specialist, however, said an injury to the spinal cord at the base of the brain is "almost inconsistent with survival."
"It's very, very, very bad," said Dr. Duncan McBride, chief of neurosurgery at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. "It's about the worst thing that can happen to a guy."
A small percentage of such patients regain some function, but they seldom show any improvement more than two days after the injury, said Dr. Donald Trunkey, at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland.
People who suffer such injuries are at risk from secondary ailments such as pneumonia and kidney failure, Trunkey said.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Spinal injury
"Superman" actor Christopher Reeve shattered the first and second cervical vertebrae and injured his spinal cord. The effects of such injuries:
The injury is almost always fatal.
Victims remain conscious and alert but cannot breathe on their own or move below the head.
Victims are at risk of secondary ailments like pneumonia and kidney failure. If bleeding from the fracture reaches the brain, it can be fatal.
Some patients regain some function, but most improvement happens within 48 hours of the injury.