Pioneering Neurosurgery for First UK Stroke Patient Delivers new Lease of Life

LONDON, April 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

New electrical stimulation system ActiGait^® from Ottobock Healthcare helps restore independence and emotional welfare of stroke survivor

Lida Litras, a 47 year old stroke survivor from London and sufferer of drop foot, has become the first person in the UK to benefit from a new implantable electrical neurostimulation device from mobility experts Ottobock Healthcare. ActiGait^® stimulates a patient's nervous system and is implanted surgically into the leg to combat the debilitating condition of drop foot.

Play Video: View Lida's story and how ActiGait has improved her quality of life

What is drop foot?

Drop foot sufferers are unable to activate the muscles in the front of their leg or raise their foot to clear the floor when walking. The condition can be caused by multiple sclerosis or incomplete spinal cord injuries as well as stroke. Every year an estimated 150,000 people in the UK have a stroke of which one third will be left disabled and will require rehabilitation*.

In January 1998 Lida Litras, then 33 years old and single mother of two young children, suffered a devastating stroke. She was in hospital for five months and afterwards struggled to remain independent because of drop foot, which caused her to trip easily. Now 47, Lida has become the first patient in the UK to benefit from the advanced neurostimulation device ActiGait.

"Since the ActiGait implant I can walk effortlessly and have no pain whatsoever, it's a million times better than anything I've had before," commented Lida Litras. "Before ActiGait, I had to wear baggy clothes and wasn't able to wear dresses or skirts due to the embarrassment of visible wires and electrodes on my leg from my old drop foot solution, which made me feel unfeminine."

ActiGait from Ottobock restores the natural walking gait of stroke patients who are drop foot sufferers. It substitutes missing central nervous system signals and provides the required nerve trigger to allow dorsiflexion of the foot.

"We're delighted Lida has experienced such life-changing benefits since her ActiGait implantation surgery," stated Dr. Salim Ghoussayni, Ottobock Healthcare. "Lida now has the confidence to go where she pleases and to dress how she wants, and is enjoying a significantly higher quality of life."

For more information on ActiGait please visit http://www.ottobock.co.uk or follow @ottobockuk.

Notes to editors:

* According to The Stroke Association (http://www.stroke.org.uk/about_us/index.html)