BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Mapping of the brachial plexus with MR imaging has been reported and may have potential clinical applications (eg, precise localization of traumatic or tumoral nerve lesions, selective anesthesia of the brachial plexus). We sought to demonstrate that mapping of the brachial plexus may be performed by means of sonography. METHODS Twelve healthy adult volunteers (seven wo...

Clavicular fractures are occasionally responsible for lesions of the brachial plexus. The symptoms are usually delayed and due to compression by hypertrophic callus, nonunion or a subclavian pseudoaneurysm. We describe a patient in whom a displaced bone fragment was pressing on the retroclavicular part of the brachial plexus, leading to early symptoms of a lesion of the posterior cord. Internal...

BACKGROUND Current techniques of brachial plexus block are "blind," and nerve localization can be frustrating and time consuming. Previous studies on ultrasound-assisted brachial plexus blocks are mostly performed with scanning probes of 10 MHz or less. The authors tested the usefulness of a state-of-the-art, high-resolution ultrasound probe (up to 12 MHz) in identifying the brachial plexus in ...

Brachial plexus nerve blocks are performed to treat patients with chronic pain referable to the brachial plexus. The needle insertion and trajectory are based on palpation of surface landmarks. Occasionally, the surface landmarks are difficult to identify owing to body habitus or anatomic alterations secondary to surgery or radiation therapy. The intent of this manuscript is to describe a techn...

Neonates and infants with brachial plexus injuries are typically treated using splinting, range-of-motion exercise, and, in more severe cases, nerve reconstruction. However, myofascial release--a common osteopathic manipulative treatment technique that has been used to manage thoracic outlet syndrome in adults--may provide effective, noninvasive management of brachial plexus injuries in neonate...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the nature and extent of neurosurgically treated obstetric plexus lesions with obstetric and neonatal precedents. DESIGN Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data. SETTING Leiden, the Netherlands. POPULATION A 9-year cohort of infants (n = 206) neurosurgically treated for obstetric brachial plexus lesion at a tertiary referral centre for nerve lesions...

Continuous brachial plexus nerve block catheters are commonly inserted for postoperative analgesia after upper extremity surgery. Modifications of the insertion technique have been described to improve the safety of placing an infraclavicular brachial plexus catheter. Rarely, these catheters may become damaged or entrapped, complicating their removal. We describe a case of infraclavicular brach...

The brachial plexus, which is the most complex structure of the peripheral nervous system, supplies most of the upper extremity and shoulder. The high incidence of brachial plexopathies reflects its vulnerability to trauma and the tendency of disorders involving adjacent structures to affect it secondarily. The combination of anatomic, pathophysiologic, and neuromuscular knowledge with detailed...

conclusions the volume of the injected anesthetic accelerated the onset of sensory and motor block without affecting the rate of success in our patients. results the onset of sensory and motor block was significantly shorter in the 1.3% lidocaine group than in the 2% lidocaine group (p ≤ 0.05). the success rate of sensory and motor block was not different. the quality (completeness) of sensory ...

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...