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Suns’ Big Three

When the Suns traded for Bradley Beal six months ago, they knew they were taking a not insignificant risk. After all, he had missed a whopping 131 games over the last four years due to a cacophony of ailments. That said, they felt they needed to make a splash in the offseason to shore up their title hopes; not wanting to waste what remained of the peak years of future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant, they figured the potential upside was worth the gamble. And so they forged ahead and acquired their third marquee name even at the expense of roster depth.

The Suns went on to make more moves, and when the smoke cleared, they had all but changed the cast of characters surrounding Durant and Devin Booker. Under new head coach Frank Vogel, they believed they were set to improve on their conference semifinals showing in the last two postseasons. And, on surface, they weren’t wrong to go all in. Considering the otherworldly skill sets of their acknowledged leaders, they understood that anything less than a deep playoff run would be deemed a success.

Unfortunately, luck would not be with the Suns for the remainder of the year. Beal needed two weeks to convalesce from a back injury, and just three games to be sidelined anew. It would then take him another month to before he could trek to the court, and, once again, a mere three games to be forced out of it. This time around, a right ankle sprain felled him, and he will be reevaluated in the first week of the new year. Meanwhile, the purple and orange have been middling at best despite sterling numbers from Durant, scoring at a clip not seen in a decade.

Certainly, it hasn’t helped that Booker likewise missed nine of 29 outings to date, and that the Suns won just three matches in his absence. No one wants to lose, but setbacks become more pronounced in the face of heightened expectations. Which was why no eyebrows were raised when frustration set in following their futile effort against the rival Mavericks on Christmas Day. Their supposed Big Two managed a relatively paltry 36 even as Luka Doncic put up a whopping half century at Footprint Center.

If there’s any silver lining, it’s that there remains ample time for the Suns to do better. And though they may provisionally be 11th in West standings, only three and a half games separate them from the fourth-place Clippers. In other words, any improvement on their part will translate to major gains. Then again, their ultimate objective requires them to address systemic infirmities. Whether or not they can do so with Beal —  and, to a lesser extent, Booker and Durant — sporting brittle bodies and those around them unable to pick up the slack is anybody’s guess.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.

Singapore readies sales tax hike as demographic crunch looms

Shoppers browse merchandise in a shopping mall on Orchard Road, in Singapore Dec. 23, 2022. — REUTERS

SINGAPORE — Singapore households are bracing for a sales tax hike that takes effect in the new year as the government shores up coffers ahead of an expected surge in social spending in the rapidly ageing city-state in the years ahead.

The goods and services tax, which is levied on everything from groceries to diamond rings, will be increased by one percentage point to 9% on Monday, the second phase of a two-stage rate hike. This year the sales tax was raised to 8% from the previous 7%, which had been unchanged for 15 years.

The hikes come on top of already rising living costs, prompting opposition lawmakers to call for a delay in the rise. Core inflation in Singapore has moderated to 3.2% in November from a peak of 5.5% in January and February, but remains stubborn with the central bank expecting it to average 2.5-3.5% in 2024.

The government has said the tax increment was necessary to bolster state finances as it prepares for a surge in Singapore’s ageing population and rising healthcare costs. It is estimated that a quarter of the population will be 65 and older by 2030.

In August, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong wrote in a parliamentary response that “deferring the GST increase will only store up more problems for the future, leaving us with less resources to take care of our growing fiscal needs.”

The government has handed out fiscal relief to households in an “assurance package” worth more than S$10 billion ($7.55 billion), including S$200 to S$800 paid out to all adult Singaporeans this month.

Some retailers have pledged not to pass on the tax hikes for now. Home furnishing brand IKEA said it will absorb the 1% hike but did not say when it would end the initiative, while supermarket chain FairPrice Group will absorb the hike on 500 essential items like rice and vegetables. — Reuters

Russian stars’ semi-naked party sparks fierce backlash

The Russian flag flies on the dome of the Kremlin Senate building behind Spasskaya Tower, in central Moscow, Russia, May 4, 2023. — REUTERS

MOSCOW — A rapper who attended a celebrity party with only a sock to hide his modesty has been jailed for 15 days, sponsors of some of Russia’s best known entertainers have torn up their contracts, and President Vladimir Putin is reported to be unamused.

An “almost naked” party at a Moscow nightclub held at a time when Russia is engaged in a war with Ukraine and the authorities are pushing an increasingly conservative social agenda, has provoked an unusually swift and powerful backlash.

A video clip of Mr. Putin’s spokesperson listening to an explanation from one of the stars who attended has been circulating online, and Baza, a news outlet known for its contacts with the security services, has reported that troops fighting in Ukraine were among the first to complain after seeing the footage and that photographs of the event reached an unimpressed Mr. Putin.

Dmitry Peskov, Mr. Putin’s spokesperson, on Wednesday asked reporters to forgive him for not publicly commenting on the burgeoning scandal, saying: “Let you and I be the only ones in the country who aren’t discussing this topic.”

Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said that the event had “stained” those who took part, but that they now had a chance to work on themselves, according to the Ura.ru news outlet.

The fierce backlash from the authorities, pro-Kremlin lawmakers and bloggers, state media, and Orthodox Church groups has been dominating the headlines for days, displacing stories about rising egg prices and inflation.

The party, in Moscow’s Mutabor nightclub on Dec. 21, was organized by blogger Anastasia (Nastya) Ivleeva and was attended by well-known singers in various states of undress who have been staples on state TV entertainment programs for years.

Ms. Ivleeva, who has since become one of Russia’s most recognized names and who attended wearing jewelry worth 23 million rubles ($251,000) at a time when some Russians are struggling to get by, has issued two public apology videos.

In the second tearful one, released on Dec. 27, she said she regretted her actions and deserved everything she got but hoped she could be given “a second chance.”

Her name has since disappeared as one of the public faces of major Russian mobile phone operator MTS, the tax authorities have opened an investigation that carries a potential five-year jail term, and a Moscow court has accepted a lawsuit from a group of individuals demanding she pay out 1 billion rubles ($10.9 million) for “moral suffering.”

If successful, they want the money to go to a state fund that supports Ukraine war veterans.

‘CYNICAL’
“To hold such events at a time when our guys are dying in the (Ukrainian) special military operation and many children are losing their fathers is cynical,” said Yekaterina Mizulina, director of Russia’s League for a Safe Internet, a body founded with the authorities’ support.

“Our soldiers on the frontline are definitely not fighting for this.”

Many of the party’s famous participants have recorded apologies, including journalist Ksenia Sobchak whose late father Anatoly used to be Mr. Putin’s friend and boss.

The scandal comes at a time when Mr. Putin, who is expected to comfortably win another six-year term at a March election, has doubled down on social conservatism, urging families to have eight or more children, and after Russia’s Supreme Court ruled that LGBT activists should be designated as “extremists.”

Nikolai Vasilyev, a rapper known as Vacio who attended wearing only a sock to cover his penis, was jailed by a Moscow court for 15 days and fined 200,000 rubles ($2,182) for propaganda of “non-traditional sexual relations.”

Other more famous names have had concerts and lucrative state TV airtime canceled, contracts with sponsors revoked, and, in at least one case, are reportedly being cut out of a new film.

The scandal has angered those who support Russia’s war in Ukraine.

One woman who said her nephew had lost both legs in combat wrote in a post to the League for a Safe Internet that the stars should pay for prosthetic legs for her relative and others to make amends.

“That would be a better apology,” the unidentified woman wrote. — Reuters

Strike closes Eiffel Tower down on 100th anniversary of creator death

A VIEW of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, Nov. 28, 2015. — REUTERS

PARIS — The Eiffel Tower was closed on Wednesday, the 100th anniversary of its creator’s death, due to a strike, the company that oversees the tower, Societe d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE), said on the website of Paris’ most famous landmark.

“A symbolic action on a symbolic date,” said the CGT union in a statement, adding that staff members wanted to call out the current financial management of SETE. They said they feared poor decisions could lead to a cash shortage, due in part to a lack of visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to expensive repairs needed on the historical building.

The statement added that if the city did not revise its management, the tower could be closed during Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The wrought-iron 324-meter (1,063 ft) high tower, built by Gustave Eiffel in the late 19th century, is among the most visited tourist sites in the world, welcoming about six million visitors each year. — Reuters

Pendulum swings towards tighter measures against transgender athletes

STOCK PHOTO | Image by Steve Bidmead from Pixabay

MANCHESTER, England – New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard’s appearance at the 2020 Tokyo Games as the first openly transgender woman to compete at the Olympics received mixed reviews in one of the most contentious areas in sport.

In the end, Hubbard retired after an inauspicious performance in Tokyo where she failed to record a valid lift.

Fast forward to 2023 and she would find herself ineligible for next year’s Paris Games after the International Weightlifting Federation tightened its eligibility rules.

Heading into 2024, there has been a seismic shift in the sporting landscape for trans athletes with the pendulum swinging back towards tighter measures on a divisive issue that has virtually no grey area.

In March, World Athletics banned transgender women who had gone through male puberty from elite female competitions – a decision federation president Sebastian Coe said was based “on the overarching need to protect the female category”.

Athletics followed a similar move made by World Aquatics in 2022 and more sport organizations have followed suit.

The International Cycling Union (UCI) in July banned trans women who had gone through male puberty from competing in the female category of competitive events. Athletes who do not qualify can enter the newly named “men/open” category.

The UCI’s new rules came two months after British Cycling’s similar ban on trans women.

Hubbard, French sprinter Halba Diouf and Welsh cyclist Emily Bridges could previously compete in the women’s category because they met testosterone level requirements.

“The only safeguard transgender women have is their right to live as they wish and we are being refused that, we are being hounded,” Diouf told Reuters after World Athletics tightened their rules.

 

BIGGEST THREAT

Anti-trans activists argue that the participation of trans women is the biggest threat to women’s sport, with much of their anger targeted at high-profile athletes such as swimmer Lia Thomas, the first openly trans athlete to win an NCAA Division 1 US national college title.

Thomas, who won the women’s 500-yard freestyle at the 2022 championships, cannot compete in the women’s category at the Paris Olympics due to World Aquatics’ new rules.

Canada’s soccer midfielder Quinn – whose case differs from Hubbard and Thomas in that Quinn was born female – became the first ever openly transgender and non-binary gold medalist at the Tokyo Olympics.

The inclusion of trans women has prompted some of the world’s greatest athletes to take sides.

Megan Rapinoe, who recently retired from the US women’s soccer team, said she would welcome a trans player on the squad.

“We as a country are trying to legislate away people’s full humanity,” Rapinoe told Time Magazine. “It’s particularly frustrating when women’s sports is weaponized. Oh, now we care about fairness? Now we care about women’s sports?”

Her comments raised the ire of tennis great Martina Navratilova, a trailblazer for gay rights, who tweeted a one-word response: “Yikes…”

Rapinoe and partner, retired WNBA star Sue Bird, were among 40 professional athletes who signed a letter to US lawmakers in April opposing a federal bill that stipulates Title IX compliance requires banning transgender athletes from playing women’s and girl’s sport.

Title IX is a 1970s civil rights law which bars discrimination based on sex.

“Certainly the pendulum is swinging back in a negative way,” Joanna Harper, a Canadian-born transgender woman and author, told Reuters in July. “There’s little doubt of that.” – Reuters

North Korea’s Kim orders military to accelerate war preparations -state media

KREMLIN.RU/EVENTS/PRESIDENT/NEWS/60363/PHOTOS-COMMONS.WIKIMEDIA.ORG

SEOUL – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered its military, the munitions industry and the nuclear weapons sector to accelerate war preparations to counter what he called unprecedented confrontational moves by the US, state media said on Thursday.

Speaking on the policy directions for the new year at a key meeting of the country’s ruling party on Wednesday, Kim also said Pyongyang would expand strategic cooperation with “anti-imperialist independent” countries, news agency KCNA reported.

“He (Kim) set forth the militant tasks for the People’s Army and the munitions industry, nuclear weapons and civil defense sectors to further accelerate the war preparations,” KCNA said.

North Korea has been expanding ties with Russia, among others, as Washington accuses Pyongyang of supplying military equipment to Moscow for use in its war with Ukraine, while Russia provides technical support to help the North advance its military capabilities.

Mr. Kim also laid out economic goals for the new year during the meeting, calling it a “decisive year” to accomplish the country’s five-year development plan, the report said.

“He … clarified the important tasks for the new year to be dynamically pushed forward in the key industrial sectors,” and called for “stabilizing the agricultural production on a high level.”

The North has suffered serious food shortages in recent decades, including famine in the 1990s, often as a result of natural disasters. International experts have warned that border closures during the COVID-19 pandemic worsened food security.

North Korea’s crop output was estimated to have increased year-on-year in 2023 due to favorable weather conditions. But a Seoul official has said the amount was still far below what is needed to address the country’s chronic food shortages.

The 9th plenary meeting of the 8th central committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea kicked off on Tuesday to wrap up a year during which the isolated North enshrined nuclear policy in its constitution, launched a spy satellite and fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile.

The days-long assembly of the party and government officials has been used in recent years to make key policy announcements. Previously, state media released Kim’s speech on New Year’s Day. – Reuters

US to provide up to $250 mln in arms, equipment to Ukraine -Blinken

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken — COURTESY OF FACEBOOK/ANTONY BLINKEN

WASHINGTON – The US will provide up to $250 million in arms and equipment to Ukraine in the final package of aid this year to help Kyiv in its war with Russia, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday.

President Joe Biden has asked Congress to provide another $61 billion in aid to Ukraine, but Republicans are refusing to approve the assistance without an agreement with Democrats to tighten security along the US-Mexico border.

The White House has warned that without the additional appropriation U.S. aid will run out by the end of the year for Ukraine’s fight to retake territory occupied by Russian forces since it invaded in February 2022.

Mr. Blinken said the latest aid package included air defense munitions, additional ammunition for high-mobility artillery rocket systems, artillery ammunition, anti-armor munitions and over 15 million rounds of ammunition.

Congress has approved more than $110 billion for Ukraine since Russia’s invasion, but it has not approved any funds since Republicans took control of the House of Representatives from Democrats in January 2023. – Reuters

What’s next after pause of US Apple Watch import ban?

STOCK PHOTO | Image by charlie0111 from Pixabay

A US appeals court on Wednesday temporarily paused a ruling that had restricted imports of Apple’s popular Apple Watches into the United States.

Here is a look at what the case means for consumers and what is next for Apple.

 

Why was the ban imposed?

The US International Trade Commission in October ordered Apple to stop importing and selling some Apple Watches following a complaint from medical-monitoring technology company Masimo.

The ITC, a federal agency that handles international trade disputes, found that an Apple Watch feature for reading blood-oxygen levels infringed on Masimo’s pulse oximetry patents.

President Joe Biden’s administration had until Dec. 25 to veto the order based on public policy concerns but did not do so.

Cupertino, California-based Apple had preemptively paused US sales of its latest high-end Series 9 and Ultra 2 models ahead of the Christmas Day deadline.

Apple appealed the ban to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington. The court halted the ban on Wednesday while it considers the company’s request for a longer-term pause during the appeals process.

 

How are US Apple Watch sales affected?

Wednesday’s decision allows Apple to continue importing and selling infringing Apple Watches while the court considers whether to put the ban on hold for the duration of the appeals process.

Apple Stores in New York and San Francisco told Reuters on Wednesday that they had yet to resume selling Series 9 and Ultra 2 Apple Watches and did not know when they would be available.

The ITC’s order does not affect the lower-priced Apple Watch SE, which does not have pulse-oximetry capabilities and remains on sale from Apple.

The ITC decision says it applies only to Apple Watches with the light-based pulse oximetry capability in question, but does not specify which models with that technology are affected. Apple first introduced pulse oximetry in its Series 6 watches, and Masimo has argued that all Apple Watches with the technology infringe its patents.

Apple said it would also stop replacing out-of-warranty watches going back to Series 6 based on the ban.

The ban specifically applies to Apple and its “affiliated companies, parents, subsidiaries, or other related business entities,” and may not affect other retailers.

Series 9 and Ultra 2 Apple Watches are still available from third-party sellers including Amazon, Best Buy and Walmart.

 

What are the accusations against Apple?

Masimo, which released a watch last year that also reads blood-oxygen levels and tracks other health indicators, accused Apple of hiring away its employees and stealing its technology after discussing a potential collaboration. A jury trial on Masimo’s allegations in California federal court ended with a mistrial in May and has yet to be rescheduled.

Apple has called Irvine, California-based Masimo’s legal actions a scheme to clear a path for its competing smartwatch, and has countersued Masimo for patent infringement in Delaware federal court.

 

What are Apple’s other options?

In addition to its appeal, Apple is working on a redesign that would enable its watches to operate without infringing on Masimo’s patents. It could import and sell the redesigned watches regardless of the ITC’s ban if US Customs and Border Protection approves the workaround.

Apple told the Federal Circuit on Tuesday that the customs agency is scheduled to make its decision on the workaround on Jan. 12.

Masimo has said that its patents cover hardware, and that a software fix would not work.

Masimo CEO Joe Kiani has also indicated that he is willing to settle the dispute. – Reuters

Alibaba must face lawsuit in US over counterfeit Squishmallows

NEW YORK – A US judge on Wednesday rejected Alibaba’s bid to dismiss a lawsuit over the alleged sale by various merchants of counterfeit versions of the popular children’s toy Squishmallows on its online platforms.

US District Judge Jesse Furman in Manhattan said Kelly Toys, whose parent Jazwares is owned by billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, plausibly alleged that Alibaba knew about and contributed to the merchants’ infringement of its copyrights and trademarks.

Kelly Toys said the sale of counterfeits on Alibaba has persisted despite six earlier lawsuits to stop it, with Alibaba ignoring its own “three-strike” policies and awarding some infringing merchants “Gold Supplier” and “Verified” status.

Alibaba and lawyers for the Chinese e-commerce company did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Furman did not rule on the lawsuit’s merits.

Kelly Toys had in November 2022 sued about 90 merchants it accused of selling counterfeit Squishmallows, and obtained an injunction two months later. It added Alibaba as a defendant in March.

In seeking a dismissal, Alibaba said Kelly Toys failed to allege it had any involvement in infringements, and was trying to improperly shift the burden of policing its intellectual property by requiring “draconian” measures against sellers.

Jazwares bought a majority stake in Kelly Toys in April 2020. Berkshire bought Jazwares’ parent, the insurance holding company Alleghany, in October 2022. Revenue at Jazwares totaled $847 million in the first nine months of 2023.

The case is Kelly Toys Holdings LLC v 19885566 Store et al, US District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 22-09384. – Reuters

Polish culture minister says he will put state media into liquidation

STOCK PHOTO | Image by Rudy and Peter Skitterians from Pixabay

WARSAW – Poland’s culture minister has decided to put its state television, radio and news agency into liquidation, he said on Wednesday, deepening a dispute over the future of publicly- owned media after a momentous change in government.

A pro-European Union coalition headed by Donald Tusk took power in Poland this month and started an overhaul of state media institutions which critics say had become propaganda outlets during the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party’s eight years in power.

The changes have drawn strong opposition from PiS, which says the new government has circumvented normal parliamentary procedure in implementing them.

Wednesday’s move follows a decision by President Andrzej Duda, a PiS ally, to veto the new government’s spending proposals for public media financing.

“Due to the decision of the President of the Republic of Poland to suspend financing of public media, I decided to put into liquidation the companies Telewizja Polska SA, Polskie Radio SA and Polska Agencja Prasowa SA,” Bartlomiej Sienkiewicz said in a statement posted on social media platform X.

“In the current situation, such action will ensure the continued operation of these companies, carry out the necessary restructuring and prevent layoffs of employees in the above-mentioned companies.”

He said that the state of liquidation could be withdrawn at any time by the companies’ owner, which is the state.

PiS lawmaker Joanna Lichocka said in a post on X that “Tusk’s government is destroying the Polish media”.

“This is an act which damages the state,” she added.

 

‘TYPICAL AGGRESSOR ‘

Earlier in December the new government had taken state news channel TVP Info off air and dismissed executives from state media in what it said was a move designed to restore impartiality.

Media analysts and free speech activists say that under PiS, TVP did not act as the neutral news provider its charter says it should be but as a government mouthpiece.

However, PiS says that the new government’s changes damage pluralism in the media by removing a conservative voice and that the means by which the changes were implemented, without a bill going through parliament, were not legal. Tusk’s government rejects these claims.

On Saturday, Mr. Duda said that he was vetoing a bill which included 3 billion zlotys ($771 million) in financing for state media in light of the government’s moves regarding public broadcasters.

The head of Mr. Duda’s office on Wednesday accused Sienkiewicz of behaving like “a typical aggressor”.

“This is proof of the complete powerlessness of the authorities, who have not found any legal way to change the authorities in these companies,” Marcin Mastalerek wrote on X.

On Tuesday a body dominated by PiS designated a new television boss despite the current administration having appointed somebody else to the role. – Reuters

Mexico leader urges US to invest in people, not walls, ahead of Blinken meeting

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. — Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador/Facebook

MEXICO CITY – Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Wednesday the US Congress should focus on investing in people instead of building walls, hours before he was set to meet Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss migration to the United States.

President Joe Biden’s administration is seeking help from Mr. Lopez Obrador’s government to stem migration flows and cope with record numbers of people trying to reach the US border, a key issue ahead of the US presidential election in November.

The meetings come after more than half a million migrants this year crossed the dangerous Darien Gap jungle into Central America – double last year’s record – many fleeing crime, poverty and conflict to seek entry into the United States.

Mr. Lopez Obrador, who last week assured the United States that Mexico would help ease migratory pressures, said the US Congress should be investing in poor people in Latin America and the Caribbean “instead of putting up barriers, barbed wire fences in the river, or thinking about building walls”.

“It is more efficient and more humane to invest in the development of the people and that is what we have always proposed, Mr. Lopez Obrador told a press conference.

Mr. Lopez Obrador added that he expects next year’s US election will bring the issue of migration to the forefront.

“We have to take care because campaigners use this issue as a rallying cry,” Mr. Lopez Obrador said.

Former US President Donald Trump, the leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, has promised to crack down on illegal immigration and restrict legal immigration if elected to a second four-year term in office.

Mr. Trump focused on building a wall on the Mexico border during his first term and has pledged to close gaps in the border wall if reelected. His administration built 450 miles (725 km) of barriers across the 1,954-mile (3,145-km) border, but much of that replaced existing structures.

Mr. Lopez Obrador planned to meet midday in Mexico City with Mr. Blinken, who will also speak with Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Barcena. The US delegation includes Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

A State Department spokesman said they will discuss “unprecedented irregular migration in the Western Hemisphere and identify ways Mexico and the United States will address border security challenges.”

On Wednesday, thousands of migrants and asylum seekers marched slowly north from southern Mexico in a caravan hoping to reach the US border, many carrying small children.

“We don’t need to go back to our country if we don’t have anything there,” said Nohemia Zendejas, a mother on the road with four children in tow. “I come from Venezuela and Venezuela is broken”. – Reuters

Italian may regain use of hand after nerve transfer from amputated leg

STOCK PHOTO | Image by Jackson David from Pixabay

TURIN – A man may regain the use of his hand, left paralyzed by a severe road accident, thanks to a pioneering nerve transfer operation from his partly amputated leg, doctors in northern Italy said.

Surgeons at Turin City Hospital (CTO) transferred part of the man’s sciatic nerve, which controlled the movement of his amputated foot, to his brachial plexus, the network of nerves that connect the spinal cord to the shoulder, arm and hand.

“It’s the first time that someone transfers a component of the sciatic nerve to the brachial plexus”, Paolo Titolo, one of the surgeons who performed the operation, said in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday.

Marcello Gaviglio, a 55-year-old healthcare worker had to have half his left leg amputated after he was hit by a motor-bike five months ago while travelling to work on his moped.

He suffered serious injuries to his brachial plexus as well as his leg, leaving him unable to use either of his hands.

Because the part of the sciatic nerve that controlled his left foot was no longer needed, it could be transferred to the shoulder area in the operation carried out on Dec. 21, potentially restoring the mobility to one of his hands.

Before it is clear if that is possible, Mr. Gaviglio will have to undergo around 5 months of post-operative care. For now, he is still unable to move the hand at all.

Nerve transfer surgery is not new, but it has not previously involved moving a nerve that normally controls the foot to an area that controls the hand.

“We think this is pioneering surgery because if it works it means that the brain plasticity can control also other parts of the body that we didn’t expect and also opens new fields in neuro studies,” Mr. Titolo said.

The aim is to restore “some grasp function” to the hand, which will then also be able to help the other hand to do things, he added.

The procedure was the result of four years of research and was published in the medical journal Injury.

Mr. Gaviglio, the patient, said he had given little thought to the pioneering aspect of the surgery, he just felt it was an opportunity he should take advantage of.

“I thought about relying on a team of very good doctors and being able to move my hand again a little bit,” he said. – Reuters

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