Gymnast's Prognosis Unknown
Injured Chinese gymnast Sang Lan still has no use of her legs and limited movement in her upper body, and doctors said Wednesday they they are uncertain about her prognosis.
Sang, 17, suffered what doctors called an "incomplete" spinal injury when she landed on her neck practicing a vault before Tuesday night's Goodwill Games competition at Nassau Coliseum.
Doctors now say they will use an experimental treatment to try and help the girl regain movement in her limbs. The Food and Drug Administration has given the go-ahead for doctors to use nerve-damage drug Sygen to help treat the injured spinal cord.
The drug is a synthetic protein and is designed to repair damage in paralysis cases. It has not yet received full federal approval but is being allowed in this case following a petition by the New York doctors based on compassionate grounds.
Doctors said that while they are hopeful Sang will regain at least limited use of her arms, the uncertainty and instability of an "incomplete" type of injury makes them unable to give an accurate diagnosis.
"I've seen some people recover completely, and I've seen some who didn't make any progress," said Dr. Vincent Leone, who treated Sang at Nassau County Medical Center.
"These injuries usually declare themselves within six weeks, so we will know more then."
Sang remained in critical but stable condition Wednesday in the intensive care unit at the medical center.
Sang's injury occurred during vault warm-ups before the start of the Goodwill Games event finals, when she appeared to overpower a simple front handspring off the horse.
Instead of landing on her feet, Sang tried to tuck and roll out of the vault but landed on the back of her neck, said Romanian coach Octavian Belu, who witnessed the accident.
Belu said he heard a snap when Sang landed.
Sang was placed on a spinal board stretcher after the fall and taken to the Nassau hospital where she underwent tests and doctors realigned her vertebrae.
U.S. gymnastics safety instructor Jeff Lulla told CBS News Correspondent Hattie Kauffman that gymnastics is actually among the safest sports and said serious injuries are rare. "It's kind of like hearing about a plane crash," he said. "We know that flying is one of the safest forms of transportation, but when you hear about a plane crash, it gets a lot of attention and people worry about that."
Dr. Leone said that Sang is receiving treatment with corticosteroids and will undergo spinal fusion, a surgical procedure that will stabilize her spine, in about two days.
In that operation doctors will insert metal pieces in her spine to prevent the bones from sliding on top of one another. The fusion will allow Sang to sit up.
Sang, China's national vault champion, will have to stay in the United States for about one week following the fusion, but will then be allowed to go hom to China for rehabilitation.
Goodwill Games officials said Wednesday that they are in contact with the Chinese government and expect Sang's parents to arrive in the United States Friday or Saturday.
Tu Mingde, secretary general of the Chinese Olympic Committee, said Sang told him Wednesday that she still didn't know what exactly happened during the vault.
After the accident she asked her coach whether in the future she can still be a gymnast, Tu said. "She really wished she could stand up."
Doctors praised Sang's spirit.
"She understands that she has a very serious condition, but she hasn't cried much," said Dr. Leone. "She really is a very tough young lady."
Dr. Leone, an orthopedic spine surgeon, said he told Sang that he had been a gymnast in high school in Brooklyn, New York. "I told her I hurt my back and had to quit, and now I have to do this for a living," said Dr. Leone.
"Then she said, 'Now I want to be a doctor'."