SEOUL (Yonhap) _ A South Korean medical team said Wednesday it has successfully conducted nerve-restoration surgery on an American woman by injecting adult stem cells into paralyzed parts of her body.
The medical team led by Han Chang-hwan, a doctor at St. Mary's Hospital in Daejeon, said the surgery was conducted on Michelle Farrah, 36, who has been paralyzed from the waist down since a car accident two years ago.
``The surgery is a success and we are waiting to see how she is recovering,’’ a hospital official said.
Doctors quoted the patient as saying that she started to regain feeling in her legs.
The medical team said it will take more time and treatment to determine the extent of her recovery from the paralysis.
Adult stem cells are regarded by some scientists as an effective alternative to embryonic stem cells, which are engulfed in a sizzling ethical controversy.
St. Mary's Hospital in Daejeon, about 160 kilometers south of Seoul, opened an adult stem cell treatment center in October, spearheading clinical trials of adult stem cells on 10 patients with hard-to-cure illnesses such as Alzheimer's and paralysis.