United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

I posted a similar message as a guest but it seems like it's delayed so I'll resend.

Has anyone else experienced axillary nerve damage as a result of an open capsular shift surgery? I had surgery in Dec. 2002 after experiencing multiple dislocations in my left shoulder. After that surgery I was unable to lift my arm and EMG results showed a possible complete injury to the Axillary Nerve which controls the deltoid muscle.
After waiting a few months with no improvement it was decided that I should undergo another surgery, to determine if the nerve was severed and required a nerve graft or if it was still intact. In June of 2003 they performed that surgery and found the nerve intact.
They were able to stimulate it directly and prove that it did work and could fire the muscle. While it was encouraging that I did not have to undergo a nerve graft, I'm still left with the question has to how long before I improve.
Has anyone had a similar experience? What kind of results of what period of time?
Right now they are trying to do electric stimulation on the deltoid muscle but there is so much atrophy they can not even get a muscle contraction. It's very frustrating.

Thanks,
Chris

Well i had surgery done in 2001 to have a lump taken off my neck.well i had it done and when it was over i couldn't move my arm at all. but the Doctor told me to give it time it will come back. well it didn't i went though so much and still to this day it's the same I was told that once your nerve is cut or damaged it will never be the same.Well i have so much pain with my i don't have any feeling in my neck and half way down my arm once in awhile i lose my feeling in my hand so i can't be doing anything with this arm.I can't lift nothing with it at all I can't do anything No one will hire me because of this mess all i know i will never trust any Doctor to this day. I had a 2nd surgery done to see if they could fix it and they couldn't So i have been living with it all i know is i wish someone would mess up the doctor that done this because they don't no what we are going though. Well all i can say is I take it day by day and hope this will never happen to anyone else..Also i went though alot of test to see what went wrong and if it will come back well it don't.I can't hold anything in my arm or my hand because i will drop it.
I have to put on this tens unit to take some of the pain away i wear it everyday and all day when the weather is cold i can't be outside because my arm hurts so bad.so i stay in the house as much as i can my arm is on bone to bone because i can't lift it at all it just hangs down on my side.
Thanks June

hi i had an axillary nerve damaged.due to an acci the scapula was badly fractured.some doc adivced me surgery but i am only doing phsiothearpy i cant do abduction.what do i do will surgery improve the movements pl. reply

hi i had an axillary nerve damaged.due to an acci the scapula was badly fractured.some doc adivced me surgery but i am only doing phsiothearpy i cant do abduction.what do i do will surgery improve the movements pl. reply

It will be 1 year july 23 for me. Bad fall on the race track where i was hit by another rider. Upper body pretty much crushed spent 2 months on ventilator and well they kept me alive, thanks savanaha memorial! axillary surgery march 3rd showed nerve intact. Doc said emg had me jumping off the table so no transplant done. unfortunatly the ulnar nerve hasn't recovered yet from surgery. Guess it didn't like being disturbed. so bout 5 months now waiting for my right hand to wake up too. Doc's at Mayo say the deltoids, axillary, are starting to wake up, sorry i cann't tell. For me its been a long year but thats about what it took for the axillary to start to wake up. How much will return? Doc's say 10-80% recovery. only time will tell how much will come back. The Ulnar nerve has also left me with a crushing feeling in my hand and fingers hope that heals soon!
Good luck,
Charlie

Certainly not as traumatic as your injury, but no less frustrating is my "25%" functioning axillary nerve. Going on 45 days of PT now and still not enough "action" in the deltoid to lift my arm from my side. I'm not a patient person and no amount of "will power" and "extra" PT has made near the progress I was praying for, only that insecure "loose" feeling in my shoulder and the uncertainty of my future abilities.
tom