United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Hey guys

I had a bad accident during a motorcycle race in September 2009,which resulted in complete avulsion of C5-C6-C7-C8-T1,dis-located shoulder,fractured arm,wrist and two bones in the hand,i had surgery the following month.
For the surgery they took a nerve out of the bad arm and cutt it into 3(incision from elbow to wrist),they then implanted the nerves into the spine to reconnect C5-C6-C7. The type of surgery i had is been developed by the hospital i had the surgery at so i dont think it would be common.

At the moment i some shoulder movement,i can tense the muscle in the upper arm and also tiny bits of movement.
Pain wise,its quiet bad,24/7,im on the neurontin,im taking 2-3 300mg tabs 3 times a day,but i dont find them that great as pain is always bad,ive also tried taking amitriptyline which makes me tierd and sends me off to sleep .

So hopefully i can keep people up to date on how im getting on as i have been reading through alot of the posts the last couple of weeks.

cheers

LF

Hi LF,

I'm glad you found this community; I'm very happy I did after getting hurt in Feb 09.

Question for you-- your surgeons were able to reconnect nerves avulsed from the spine? What hospital were you trated? I have been under the impression that if avulsed, there are few recovery options.

As for pain, I'm on amitriptyline and neurontin as well, except that I'm on 800mg 4-5x a day at the direction of my pain specialist. For me, upping the neurontin dosage really helped a lot.

Best,
Mike

Hi mike

I live in Ireland and I had my surgery done in London in queens national hospital for neurology and neuroscience,from my understanding of the operation they drilled holes into the spine and implanted the dinar nerves in,they have only done this type of operation 20 times they said and are developing it as they go along.

What is generally the method of operation when all nerves are avulsed?

I will be sure to keep up to date on recovery.

Cheers
LF

Hi , Sorry to here of your hard landing accident.

So heres some tips for you, Try using arm rest ,pillows when you can
This will keep pressure and pain off the shoulder some Driving semi with erbs this help big time to cushion the arm and shoulder.
I like what you explain a bout your treatments But Man , I really did not understand what you said about your treatments,Its Great for sure. But I was born in the 50s with erbs, Treatment changed for Sure and Words have to. IF you had to have a BPI issue today it is far better than in the 50s . Stay strong

Best wishes and trys,and

Tom

Hi , Sorry to here of your hard landing accident.

So heres some tips for you, Try using arm rest ,pillows when you can
This will keep pressure and pain off the shoulder some Driving semi with erbs this help big time to cushion the arm and shoulder.
I like what you explain a bout your treatments But Man , I really did not understand what you said about your treatments,Its Great for sure. But I was born in the 50s with erbs, Treatment changed for Sure and Words have to. IF you had to have a BPI issue today it is far better than in the 50s . Stay strong

Best wishes and trys,and

Tom

Hi LF,

With a root avulsion like mine the team at the Mayo Clinic did a muscle transfer and graft to nerves that remained intact. So for me, I have shoulder movement but no bicep, tricep, forearm, hand, nor wrist. What they did was transfer a muscle from my leg to where my biceps used to be (it was completely destroyed in my accident), then attached the muscle to a nerve in my shoulder. That was 6 months ago, and when I shrug my shoulders, that transferred muscle twitches a bit. The goal is to give me elbow flexion someday.

Your treatment sounds pretty aggressive; I'd like to hear how you're doing.

Mike

Hi LF,
Welcome! Wow, that surgery is pretty unique. I too have always been under the impression that if the roots were avulsed that there was no surgical option. Medical techniques change daily though. Definately keep us up to date on your recovery as that sounds really cool. Mine weren't avulsed but I have not totally recovered either. I do Lyrica, but only 600mg daily....perhaps I should consider asking about upping the dosage. The pillow under the arm, and armrests really do help, they take a little pressure off the shoulder.

Tom, you weren't kidding huh? You really do love those smileys!

Hi Rob a is way better than a any time, Tom

Yeah but the quantity of them from you is hilarious!

My accident is very similar to yours....I was under the impression if the nerves were avulsed - you had no option...it is great to hear this news. Please keep us posted on your progress.