My 10-year old daughter has cerebral palsy. Her hands are fisted together and she can’t feed herself. I heard there is a way doctors can operate to hold the hand in a better position. Could this help my daughter feed herself?

There is a way surgeons can fuse the two bones of the forearm together. The operation places the hand in a handshake position or with the palm facing down slightly. So far, this surgery has been used to help children whose hands are open but who can’t turn the palm down. With a condition like cerebral palsy often there are other problems, such as tight muscles and joints. This type of fusion is probably not recommended for your daughter, but she may be helped with the use of special feeding equipment.