BACKGROUND Injuries of the marginal mandibular nerve (MMN) of the facial nerve result in paralysis of the lower lip muscle depressors and an asymmetrical smile. Nerve reconstruction, when possible, is the method of choice; however, in cases of long nerve gaps or delayed nerve reconstruction, conventional nerve repairs may be difficult to perform or may provide suboptimal outcomes. Herein, we in...

Peripheral nerve injury can lead to great morbidity in those afflicted, ranging from sensory loss, motor loss, chronic pain, or a combination of deficits. Over time, research has investigated neuronal molecular mechanisms implicated in nerve damage, classified nerve injury, and developed surgical techniques for treatment. Despite these advancements, full functional recovery remains less than id...

The shoulder joint is the foundation for excellent upper extremity function. It contributes to stability and basic movements like rotation and elevation of the arm. Shoulder fusion should not be accepted even for total palsy, and nerve repair should be recommended as long as an available donor nerve exists. In planning the reconstructive procedure for shoulder function, accurate biomechanical a...

UNLABELLED Radial nerve palsy following traumatic humeral diaphyseal fractures occurs uncommonly. Most recover with good outcome. However the cases with poor outcome or recovery will have tendon transfers to regain the lost functions. Various tendon transfer methods and choices are available in literatures citing acceptable to good results. We report a case of radial nerve transection secondary...

We conducted a retrospective case review at our tertiary care academic medical center to assess the long-term results of microvascular free-tissue transfer to achieve facial reanimation in 3 patients. These patients had undergone wide-field parotidectomy with facial nerve resection. Upper facial reanimation was accomplished with a proximal facial nerve-sural nerve graft, and lower facial moveme...

Distal nerve transfers have contributed enormously to the strategies in brachial plexus reconstruction. They help to overcome the pitfalls of nerve grafting from proximal root (or peripheral nerve) stumps and work, effectively, as tendon transfers. Although use of the intercostals for transfer to the musculocutaneous nerve was first described, using a graft of the ulnar nerve, in the 1960s, tra...

Femoral nerve lesions are uncommon, but very distressing at the functional level because of the absence of knee locking mechanism by the quadriceps muscle. We propose here a new neurotization procedure of obturator nerve motor branches to the motor portion of the femoral nerve in the thigh. This study was conducted on five cadavers. The motor portion of the femoral nerve and the motor branches ...

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the value of distal spinal accessory nerve (SAN) transfer to the suprascapular nerve (SSN) in children with brachial plexus birth injuries in order to better define the application and outcome of this transfer in these infants. Over a 3-year period, 34 infants with brachial plexus injuries underwent transfer of the SAN to the SSN as part of the primary s...

Tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) are F-actin-based membrane tubes, and can form between cultured cells and within vital tissues. TNTs mediate intercellular communications that range from electrical signaling to the transfer of organelles. Following peripheral nerve injury, the orchestrated intercellular communications among neural and non-neural cells are required for effective nerve regeneration. It...

OBJECTIVE To demonstrate the results of a double nerve transfer at the level of the hand for recovery of the motor and sensory function of the hand in cases of high ulnar nerve injuries. METHOD Five patients underwent a transfer of the distal branch of the anterior interosseous nerve to the deep ulnar nerve, and an end-to-side suture of the superficial ulnar nerve to the third common palmar d...