United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

In March 07, I was operated on for rotator cuff/bicep tendon surgery. I drove myself to the hospital for the surgery, and signed all my forms. When I was wheeled to recovery after the surgery, I no longer had the use of my left hand (dominant hand). The doctor thought the nerve block was still affecting me, and sent me home. Days later during the followup visit, he realized I had no radial pulse and very low blood flow to the hand. He contacted a vascular surgeon who determined that I needed a arterial bypass in the shoulder due to a irreparable blocked artery. He removed a vein from my right leg and placed it in my shoulder and arm. Three weeks later, he determined that the artery he had put in had collapsed. At this point, I was referred to both a neuro and a vascular surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic who operated on me on Jun 22, 07. The vascular surgeon took a vein from my left leg and did a another arterial bypass which reestablished blood flow to my hand. The neuro surgeon found that the ulnar and median nerves as well as the musculocutaneus nerve and my artery running from my pectoralis major were sutured and entrapped together in 2 sutures sewn in a figure eight fashion. He removed the stiches and determined that I had trace nerve potential leading to the hand and wrist. Prognosis is a year and a half at most combined with therapy to see what I will gain back. Can anyone tell me if they have recovered anything back after a BPI and how long it took.


Message was edited by: Greeny

BUMP

Joseph
I wish I could help with information on your surgery and pain issues but I can't.
I was injured at birth and have never had surgery.

Hopefully some of the other tbpi here, who are familiar with various surgeries, will be around to give you some information.

In the meantime, I hope you are able to get some relief and healing.
Sorry you had to join the ranks of the many bpi injured.

Kath robpi/adult

BUMP

I too suffer nerve injury due to surgery.
Went in to have screw removed from rotator cuff repair.
Kept having staph infections. They also repaired by biceps. Woke up numb elbow to finger tips. trans to another hosp had an arterial clot fixed with stint. Had a baseball sized bruise pressing on nerves. also told 1-2 years recovery. Mine is my right hand also dominant.
It sucks and sometimes the pain in my hand is horrible.

How long ago did you have your surgery, and have you had any recovery of your hand yet?

I had my surgery july 23 this year.
I can now barely move my thumb, index, and middle
fingers. If my arm hangs down too long it turns blue
the blood gets there but does not go back. I do
electrcal stimulation at home as physical therapy
was as the doc put it "pissing off the nerve" My hand
gets cold easy have to wear a glove to bed. During the
day I just keep it wrapped in a blanket. I hate the sling, so just carry my arm with my left hand. Hubby
laughs not being mean. I wear the sling which my elbow
rests in one side hand lays in the other. It crosses behind my back. In the beginning hand was totally numb now I have the burning stabbing pains guess that is some improvement as ther is now feeling. guess that was more than you asked for huh?

Sounds almost like me. Arm dangles and the hand swells. Then it requires me to get it elevated and get the fluid back down the arm and get the swelling in the hand back down. I have twitching in all fingers but now the knuckles of the hand have started to become locked in place. My wrist has only one direction and that is down. Cannot get extension in the wrist to raise it. But my therapists seem to believe I have regained some nerve action. So long and so slow.!!!!

Greeny,

I have a TBPI following a total shoulder replacement in July. I have regained most of the use of my biceps, triceps and wrist, but my deltoid is still not functioning. The problem this is causing, according to my PT, is that my shoulder is not supporting the TSR and it is visibly subluxed. Most nights, after fatigue continues to build all day, my hand is swollen and the skin numbness that I normally only have on my shoulder and thumb, progresses down my arm into my wrist and pointer finger.

I see my ortho surgeon and the nerve doc on Tuesday and I'm not sure what the next step will be. I'm worried that after finally getting a new shoulder I still won't be able to return to the active lifestyle I have had to put on hold for the better part of five years.

I wish you luck in your recovery,
MB

Went back to the Cleveland Clinic today and had a EMG followup since my last one 8 months ago. Doctor noticed very little change from last test. Nerves are regenerating but they fear not fast enough to get to the muscles in the hand before the muscles atrophy and shrink up. He stated that by the time the nerves regenerate to the hand, they would not attach to the shrunken muscle tissue. A nerve graft would not fair any better. Guess I live with the cards I was dealt.