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But has Dr. Hammesfahr's approach ever helped anyone in persistent vegetative state? I thought not.

Cut the crap! Dr. Hammesfahr has clearly stated Terri is not in a persistent vegtative state.

Doctor Hammesfahr also appears to be totally non-credible.

With respect to the judge’s opinion of the credibility of the medical experts designated by the Schindler family, he said: "Dr. Hammesfahr testified … he gave 105 commands … Mrs. Schindler gave an additional 6 commands … he asked her 61 questions and Mrs. Schindler, at his direction, asked her an additional 11 questions. [total 183]. The court saw few actions that could be considered responsive to either these commands or those questions. While Dr. Hammesfahr testified that she squeezed his finger on command, the video would not appear to support that and his reaction on the video likewise would not appear to support that testimony." (p. 5) (24)

"…It is clear that this therapy (vasodilatation therapy) is not recognized in the medical community. …What undermines his [Hammesfahr] credibility is that he does not present to this court any evidence… he offered no names, no case studies, no videos, and no tests (sic) results to support his claim that he had success in all but one of them. If his therapy is as effective as he would lead this court to believe, it is inconceivable that he would not produce clinical results of these patients that he has treated. And surely the medical literature would be replete with this new, now patented, procedure. Yet, he has only published one article and that was in 1995 involving some 63 patients, 60% of whom were suffering from whiplash (p. 7). (For a review of Dr. Hammesfahr’s use of transcranial Doppler testing and vasodilator therapy, see the comments by Dr. Steven Novella on www.quackwatch.com, most recent revision February 14, 2000). (25-26)

"It is clear from the evidence that these therapies [hyperbaric oxygen and vasodilatation] are experimental insofar as the medical community is concerned with regard to patients like Terry (sic) Schiavo which is borne out by the total absence of supporting case studies or medical literature. … The other doctors, by contrast, all testified there was no treatment available to improve her quality of life. They were also able to credibly testify that neither hyperbaric therapy nor vasodilatation therapy was an effective treatment for this sort of injury." (p. 8) (27)

…The court finds that the credible evidence overwhelmingly supports the view that Terry (sic) Schiavo remains in a vegetative state.” (p. 6). (28)

In my own personal experience in fifteen landmark right to die courtroom cases in the United States over a span of three decades, there has never been such unbelievably false and misleading medical testimony as in Schiavo, including the retired radiologist, Dr. Maxfield, whose specialty is the use of hyperbaric oxygen treatment, and the Florida neurologist, Dr. Hammesfahr, whose specialty is the use of vasodilator therapy in a wide variety of neurological diseases. Fortunately, the videotapes of these examinations shown at trial completely undermined these two experts’ opinions.

The Schindler family, Pat Anderson, the Schindler lawyer, various vitalist groups, and the two physicians testifying at trial on behalf of the Schindlers, as well as numerous health care professionals signing affidavits who never examined Terri but instead relied on the short videotapes, have consistently maintained the following facts-Terri Schiavo is aware, responsive, follows commands, smiles in response to the family, and has emotions; the videotapes are important because they show that "Terri is a person," and that she can respond, follow commands, smile in response to her mother, and visually track objects placed in front of her; she will improve with appropriate treatment and rehabilitation; she has the ability to swallow; the reason she can’t swallow well now is because she has been denied appropriate medical treatment for years. However, the trial court judge and the appeals court justices have stated that Terri Schiavo is in a permanent vegetative state and that no treatment is available to restore her neurological functioning, consistent with the opinions of four neurologists directly involved in the care of Terri Schiavo over 15 years, and the three neurologists testifying at trial (two selected by Michael Schiavo, and the other selected by the trial court judge when Michael Schiavo and the Schindlers were unable to agree on a neutral court-appointed medical expert).

Also...

At this evidentiary hearing, the doctors were not allowed to comment on the testimony of the other five physicians, However, at one point, the attorney representing the parents of Terri Schiavo, Patricia Anderson, asked for my opinion after hearing some of Dr. Hammesfahr’s views. My reply was, "It makes me ashamed of the medical profession." After Ms. Anderson strenuously objected to my answer as "non-responsive," the judge replied, "Well, it seems, Ms. Anderson, you asked Dr. Cranford a question, and he answered it." (22)

Reference - it's an interesting if somewhat technical read.

July 29, 2004 -- Dr. W. Hammesfahr, nominated for the Nobel Prize in Medicine, will be discussing the breakthrough he pioneered. Dr. Hammesfahr discovered that certain FDA approved medications may help increase blood flow to damaged areas of the brain after stroke and other injuries. Thus injuries that were thought to be permanent, even years after a patient had stopped improving, could now be treated successfully, and most patients would improve. Essentially, this means that most patients with permanent injuries from a stroke can get better, even years after their stroke. Most patients with permanent brain injuries, even years after their injury, can get better.

An internal Medicare review identified that this therapy helped patients gain significant improvement even years after the injury and years after they had stopped improving before obtaining Dr. Hammesfahr's approach.
Judicial Review in November of 2003 ordered Medicare payment for Dr. Hammesfahr's approach in conditions of the brain that involved damage, injury, or abnormal function of blood vessels. The judge noted that judicial review of the method, science, and results showed significant improvement. Further, he identified that there was no "viable alternative" to obtain improvement in these patients with longstanding as well as acute injuries to the brain and blood vessels than Dr. Hammesfahr's approach.

Further work showed that it was also applicable to other diseases of the brain where insufficient blood flow to the brain is a part of the problem, diseases like Attention Deficit Disorder, Migraine, Dementia, Autism, Asperger's, and Cerebral Palsy.

In clinical reviews, 98% of patients had major, functional improvement. These reviews were evaluated by Judge Susan Kurkland, for the State of Florida, Department of Health. She described in her ruling that this new therapy is safe, unique, and that Dr. Hammesfahr is the "first physician to restore deficits caused by stroke."

Dr. Hammesfahr will be speaking at the 4th International Symposium, the largest meeting or brain specialists for pediatric brain injuries ever.

Speakers from around the world including Mexico, Russia, China, Europe, and elsewhere will be meeting to discuss new approaches including Stem Cell work, and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy.

4th International Symposium on Cerebral Palsy and the Brain Injured Child
July 28-31, 2004
The Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty-Six
Fort Lauderdale, Florida

These Medicare and State of Florida reviews are posted at his web site at hni-online.com

For further information concerning the conference, contact OceanHBO.com

For further information concerning Dr. Hammesfahr's work and approach, contact hni-online.com
727-461-4464
Clearwater, Florida

http://www.ecerebralpalsy.com/newsletters/issue5.html