Repairing spinal roots after brachial plexus injuries

Brachial plexus injuries.

Injuries to the brachial plexus are common and are the most severe of all lesions of peripheral nerves, but the last 25 years have seen considerable advances in treatment. Much of this improvement followed the restatement of surgical principles regarding the treatment of wounds, and the application of methods of diagnosis and techniques of nerve repair which had been established much earlier. I...

Infraclavicular Brachial Plexus Injuries.

Combined injuries of the brachial plexus and spinal cord.

A total of 11 patients with combined traumatic injuries of the brachial plexus and spinal cord were reviewed retrospectively. Brachial plexus paralysis in such dual injuries tends to be diagnosed and treated late and the prognosis is usually poor. The associated injuries, which were all on the same side as the plexus lesion, were to the head (nine cases), shoulder girdle (five), thorax (nine) a...

Adult traumatic brachial plexus injuries.

Adult traumatic brachial plexus injuries are devastating, and they are occurring with increasing frequency. Patient evaluation consists of a focused assessment of upper extremity sensory and motor function, radiologic studies, and, most important, preoperative and intraoperative electrodiagnostic studies. The critical concepts in surgical treatment are patient selection as well as the timing an...

Management of brachial plexus injuries.

Most brachial plexus lesions are traction injuries sustained during birth, but in adolescents and older people they are usually caused by traffic accidents or following a fall in the home. A minority are the result of penetrating injury after civilian assault or trauma encountered during wartime. Birth palsy cases (obstetric brachial plexus palsy) and the remaining cases (traumatic briachial pl...