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Where the traditional surgery for a brachial plexus involves nerve grafting across the injured segments, Yale Medicine is among the few medical centers offering a new procedure called nerve transfer surgery, which involves more targeted nerve restoration away from the scarred area, and closer to the required muscle function.
The goal of brachial plexus surgery is to relieve your pain and restore sensation and motor function to your shoulder, arm and hand. Surgical approaches consider the type, location and extent of nerve injury, as well as your overall health and the impact of injury on your ability to work and quality of life.
Mild brachial plexus injuries may heal without treatment, but more severe injuries may require surgery to regain function in your arm or hand. Babies can experience brachial plexus injuries while in the uterus or during delivery. This injury is called neonatal brachial plexus palsy (NBPP).
Nerve transfers are most helpful for serious brachial plexus injuries, called avulsions. An avulsion happens when the nerve root has been torn out of the spinal cord. Nerve transfers also may be used to speed up muscle recovery.
A brachial plexus injury happens when these nerves are stretched, squeezed together, or in the most serious cases, ripped apart or torn away from the spinal cord. Minor brachial plexus injuries, called stingers or burners, are common in contact sports, such as football.
In more severe brachial plexus injuries, surgery is often necessary to restore function. If you have had an injury to the neck or shoulder area and you can’t feel or move your hand or arm, you should call your health care provider to find out what’s causing your symptoms.
Many injuries to the brachial plexus will recover spontaneously without surgery over a period of weeks to months, especially if they are mild. Nerve injuries that heal on their own tend to have better functional outcomes.
Our Approach to Brachial Plexus Surgery. Johns Hopkins experts are renowned for surgical treatment of brachial plexus injuries. Our team is skilled in assessing each patient and determining if and when surgery is appropriate.
Brachial plexus surgeons at Mayo Clinic have an extensive depth and breadth of experience with advanced microsurgical techniques. They have developed new muscle and tendon transfers and are at the forefront in understanding nerve regeneration.
Brachial plexus injuries (also known as Erb's palsy and Dejerine-Klumpke palsy) are caused by damage to those nerves, typically from trauma, tumors, inflammation, pressure, athletic injuries, or being stretched too far. Some brachial plexus injuries can happen to babies during birth.