Physical therapy doesn't always help stroke survivors get their arm and leg movements

back. Some patients must either live with their disabilities - or opt for a surgery being done at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania that brings brain and body in harmony. The surgery is called neuro-orthopedics... And many of the techniques were pioneered by a doctor at the University of Pennsylvania. Sometimes, muscles or tendons are lengthened, or their positions in the body are changed. 3 years ago, without warning, liz lewis suffered a stroke. The 45-year-old mother of three couldn't take care of herself or her family for more than a year.

Liz Lewis, Toms River, New Jersey:  "I couldn't see, I couldn't speak. I couldn't move my right arm, and everything in here, my leg and foot were paralyzed."

Her sight and speech came back in a few months, and rehabilitation got her walking again. But she could only go short distances in a heavy brace.

Liz Lewis:. "I wanted to die. I say that, OK. But I didn't really want to, but I couldn't get any further than I was."

Then she found Doctor Mary Ann Keenan at the University of Pennsylvania. Her specialty... surgery that gives brain-injured patients more freedom to move. Dr. Mary Ann Keenan/Hospital of Univ. of Pa. Since we can't fix the brain, what we do is you try to fix the consequences of the brain injury in the arm or the leg. So we move the muscles and tendons around. Dr. Keenan analyzed liz's movement patterns. Since the brain sets a new pattern for moving muscles after a stroke, this surgery helps the body and brain work better together. For example, to correct an inward twisted foot, the surgeon splits a tendon and re-attaches it in a V, to pull the foot equally on both sides.

Dr. Keenan: "You're taking a mechanical solution to a much more complicated neurologic problem."

Three surgeries later, liz walks without thinking about it.

Liz Lewis:  "It's a whole year. One, two, three and I am like a different person."

The surgery may also help patients with spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis , and post-polio syndrome. About 70 per cent of eligible patients are able to walk again without a brace.