Nerve transfers in children with traumatic partial brachial plexus injuries

Brachial plexus trauma is a rare condition in children except for obstetrical lesions, for which nerve grafting is generally proposed. Two children (9 and 12 years old) with C5 and C6 traumatic brachial plexus avulsion lesions are presented, where elbow flexion and shoulder abduction and external ro...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Microsurgery 2008, Vol.28 (2), p.117-120
Main Authors: Goubier, Jean-Noël, Teboul, Frédéric, Papadogeorgou, Ellada
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brachial Plexus - injuries
Brachial Plexus - surgery
Brachial Plexus Neuropathies - diagnosis
Brachial Plexus Neuropathies - surgery
Child
Elbow Joint
Humans
Male
Median Nerve - surgery
Microsurgery - methods
Nerve Transfer
Range of Motion, Articular
Shoulder Joint
Ulnar Nerve - surgery
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Brachial plexus trauma is a rare condition in children except for obstetrical lesions, for which nerve grafting is generally proposed. Two children (9 and 12 years old) with C5 and C6 traumatic brachial plexus avulsion lesions are presented, where elbow flexion and shoulder abduction and external rotation were the functions to be restored. Nerve transfers have been performed. Shoulder abduction was restored by an accessory‐to‐suprascapular nerve transfer in one patient, while the triceps long head motor branch was transferred to the axillary nerve in both patients. Fascicles of the ulnar and median nerve were transferred respectively to the biceps muscle nerve and the brachialis motor branch. At 11 months follow‐up, the elbow flexion scored M4 and the shoulder abduction recovered in both patients. No complications were observed. Nerve transfers currently used in adult patients may be applied in children with traumatic partial brachial plexus palsies. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. Microsurgery, 2008.
ISSN:0738-1085
1098-2752
DOI:10.1002/micr.20461