United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

On November 17, 2004, I was pulled into a machine at work and suffered 2 broken ribs, severe lacerations to the face, and worst of all, a bi-lateral brachial plexus injury. When this accident 1st happend, I had no feeling in either arm and thought that they had been severed. Within a few hours, sensation slowly returned to my left arm, but I have very little use in my right arm. Some things have returned: I have full control over my hand and tricep, I can extend my arm forward and bring it back, I can lift my arm forwards laterally about half way, I have no elbow flexion, and I cannot lift my arm to the side. My left arm has full range of motion, but it is very week.. After the accident, I had numbness throughout my whole upper body, including the back of my head. This has been reduced to just the numbness being in my shoulders and down a little into my right arm. I get massive tingling sensations in both my shoulders. My bicep has started to move, but it's very weak and doesn't have the strength to lift my arm. Based on my test results of an emg, my doctor says I have a c5 root avulsion and there's nothing they can do 4 it.. Does anyone know of any specialist that do these kinds of nerve graftings??

Hey Robert,

I'm so sorry about your injury. You've certainly been through a lot. The good news is that you seem to be getting some recovery. The other good news is that your injury was so recent. Quite often doctors advise doing nothing for such a long period of time that surgical options can sometimes be limited as a result.

And another good news is that your doctor is wrong - there are surgical options, even for avulsed nerves, because there are other nerves that can be utilized instead. If indeed the C5 is avulsed, you'd need a nerve transfer (changing the function of a viable nerve still "plugged in") instead of a graft where a portion of nerve is inserted into a damaged nerve that is still connected to the spinal cord. Since test results aren't 100% conclusive, it's not until surgery that nerve avulsion/tear/stretch can really be determined.

I don't know where you live or if you have insurance limitations, but if possible I'd strongly encourage you to include the Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN on your list. My (now) 17 year old son had all five avulsed two years ago & Mayo has done a phenominal job in nerve grafting & transfers - as well as muscle transfers. (His was a worst case scenario so I don't want to scare you off!) But I will say that his surgery was completely successful and now he not only has movement in what had been a completely paralyzed arm, but also great relief from the associated neurological pain. John now only takes a pain pill as needed, sometimes only once a week - as opposed to massive daily doses.

A big advantage of Mayo Clinic is that it's actually a team of three doctors with different specialties (ortho, hand surgery, neurosurgery) - and by working together, they can offer options that aren't always available elsewhere. (And best of all, they don't have those common doctor "egos" if you know what I mean.)

OK, I know I tend to get on my soapbox so I'll shut up! There are other excellent bpi clinics around & I'm sure you'll be hearing from other patients.

Take care & keep asking questions. You are absolutely not alone.

Ellen