How did the doctors manage to help paralyzed people walk again

Three men were able to walk after years of paralysis in the wheelchair thanks to a spinal surgery performed by Swiss doctors.

Doctors have installed an electrical device around the spine of each patient to reinforce the signals that the brain sends to the legs.

The device helped repair damaged nerves in the spinal cord.

The researchers believe that this medical advance will allow some people with paralysis to regain their ability to move without help.

The BBC has exclusively entered the clinic where all three patients are treated. The first is the Swiss, David Mezi, 30, who suffered a spinal injury seven years after a car accident.

"Try to reach the impossible"

The doctor, who treated David after the accident, said that he could no longer walk.

But the electrical appliance, designed by a team of researchers from the multi-technology school of Lausanne, has made it walk more than a mile and a half.

David had a strong personality, but the incident had its resolution. After his rehabilitation failed, he agreed to participate in this medical experiment under the supervision of Dr. Grigwaire Cortin, who praises David's determination and determination to succeed.

For Dr. Cortin, the surprise is that the device has proven to be more effective than expected. "What we did not expect was the repair of the spine, which we observed," he says.

David was operated at the clinic of one of Switzerland's leading neurologists, Jocelyn Bloc in Lausanne. The doctor was surprised at the improvement in David's condition, who could walk four times without using the device for the first time since the spinal injury.

But the operation is still in the experimental phase and can not be broadcast at the moment, because the signals sent by the device are uncomfortable and therefore can not use the device continuously, in more of the high cost.

Moments of hope

Dr. Mark Bacon, Scientific Director of Spinal Research Center, believes this experience is proof that paralysis can be treated even in relative ways.

David was the first man to experience and the other two men managed to walk to varying degrees.

Dutch engineer Gertan Oskan, 35, was hit by a car seven years ago. The doctor told him the day of his birthday that he could not walk for life.

The German Sebastian Tobrel, 48, was injured in an accident while he was cycling in a rural area.

He now drives a bike that is ready to be used mainly by his hands and that also uses his legs.

Researchers believe that their discovery will increase the mobility of paralyzed people and give them hope to walk again.