United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

hi my name is Andre, and i'm 16 years old.

I just came from the painful nerve test.

Apparently there is no chance I have a "strech" injury which I was hoping for.

The rest was inconclusive, but I have to have surgery next month to see what happened inside. I'm going to be at the hospital for another sleep-over.

They might have to take nerves from my other arm or my legs to attach the nerves if they were torn.


So I'm not sure. But one thing is certain. I am going to be like this for a long time.

one more question.

Is there any chance to get normal function if there is a root avulsion?

How were you initially injured?

Andre, with this type of problem we are facing is very impoortant to have faith. My EMG showed all five root avulsions and only 3 were avulsed. Pray and wait until you have your surgery from the day of the surgery everything is gonna go up hill you will see. God bless you.

Hi Andre,

I agree with the others - no test is 100% conclusive, and until the surgeons go in they just have to make their best judgement call. How long ago was your accident?

In terms of regaining normal function with avulsed nerves, the only option is to transfer or transplant nerves (& sometimes muscle & tendon also) from other parts of the body. There may be others, but donor sites I'm familiar with can include:
- a secondary nerve from the good arm, called a contralateral. The good arm adjusts fairly quickly & you won't have any loss of strength or feeling
- nerves from the rib area (intercostals)
- gracilis nerves/muscle/tendons from inner thigh. You only use this muscle to grip, so if you don't ride horses you won't miss it.

Through therapy, the brain learns to recognize that signals to move the arm are now coming from nerves that used to be associated with other parts of the body. Quite often there is some relief from pain since the brain doesn't have to "shout" so loud to try & get movement from the injured arm.

Although all five BP nerves (C5,6,7,8,T1) were avulsed in November '02, with the above surgeries my son can now bend his elbow & make a fist.

Also, don't forget that these tests aren't completely conclusive. Until the surgeons go in, they can't know everything. Do I remember you're considering Mayo? If not, where?

Hope this helps, and take care. We're "there" for you.

Ellen

Hi Andre!

My son just came back from his emg at Shands (Gainesville, FL) and the same thing: not the good news we were hoping for. Don't have the official report yet but it looks like he has an avulsion (more surgery, no quick easy recovery). Depressing! But hang in there! Youth is on your (and his) side, according to many doctors. At your age, with good medical care, a lot of personal effort from you, and a large dose of compensation/adaptation from that amazing human brain/body machine, you might be able to get you back almost as good as new. Adapt to the handicap for the time being, but expect the best possible recovery in a not too distant future.

Thanks a lot for all the information and encouragement!

I'm being treated at the Kaiser Permanente brachial plexus clinic in West Los Angeles by Dr. Edgerton & Dr. Kazmiroff. They're good dcctors and they do a good explaining things to me.

So far I can make my fingers down, and the same with my wrist. And my shoulder seems to function normally.

Pain is not a problem for me. I haven't taken medicine in 4 days.