My BPI wasn't a birth defect

[Debrock]

My BPI was caused by positioning on the operating table when I was 13 years old. I was a right handed person but the day after surgery, I couldn't hold a pen in right hand. My parents were told that it was underlying neurological problems and nothing was explained to me at all.I learned to do everything with my left hand. I was wondering if there was anyone out there that had a simular story and had BPI happen
not at birth but later in life. Would appreciate some input. Thanks Debra

[Kath]

Debra
You are not alone there are many others with bpi not due to birth injury.
OBPI is NOT a birth defect but due to traction applied to the baby during the delivery of the baby. While it is also a traumatic injury it is often called Erb's Palsy or birth palsy but it is due to an injury sustained during delivery.

Traumatic Brachial Plexus injury is the term used for those who sustain this injury sometime after birth cause by various events. I believe that there were some people posting about injury after surgery on the TBBI message board at this website.
Try posting your message there, I am sorry I can't remember now who it was but you will get a reply there from many others injured with a tbpi just like you.
Here is the link to the form so that you can post there and meet others injured like you. You are of course free to post on any of the forms at this website but I think you will get a quicker response there.
Welcome to the site and I am glad you found us this is a good place for current medical information from those with experience with traumatic bpi and also support for questions you may have concerning your injury.
Kath
http://ubpn.org/messageboard/forum.jsp?forum=18

[admin]

bp is not a birth defect it is a birth injury. i know a man who never knew this website was here and he is in his 30's and his mother was told he was born with it and never knew how to fix the problem. now he is seeing doctors who had to explain that it was an injury "caused" to him now naturally happening in the womb or deforming. otherwise the child would have been fine if not the circumstances that were cause on how the doctor delivered this baby good or bad it was it their hands and may or not may of been helped. i get angry when people call this a birth defect. it is a birth injury. a birth defect is when a child is missing a limp or fingers or whatever.

[evee]

I have a 2 year old son who was diagnosed with brachial plexus palsy (waiters tip). His injury didn't happened during delivery. He only weighed 4 lbs. 15 oz was delivered by c-section. I was told by doctors that there is no history of a preemie born by c-section ever getting injured during delivery. At 34 weeks My water broke but it was a slow leak so the hospital sent me home they thought the baby was putting pressure on my bladder and never checked me. Then at 36 weeks I went in for a sonogram and the technician asked me when did my water break because the amnio fluid was very low. I told her about 1 1/2-2 weeks. They told me to go straight to the hospital that I was going to have to delivery my baby that day. So The Texas Childrens Hospital (brachial plexus clinic) told me that my babies brachial plexus injury accured how my baby was positioned in my womb in low amnio fluid for two weeks. So it was the hospitals fault for not examining me and keeping me in the hospital. My doctor wasn't even on call. He is doing better now. His arm is not paralyzed. He is just weak on his left arm. And I notice his left shoulder is lower than his right.
Evee

[admin]

Hi Debra. My BPI was caused by a similar situation. Last May I had a c-section to deliver my daughter. Everything went great. After they took her out, they had her in the same room to my left and "above" my field of vision. I was straining my neck to see her the entire time they were stitching me up which took about 30-45 minutes. I had to strain my neck over and up to the left to see her. My arms were also tied out to the side at a 90 degree angle. With all that, I got a BPI. My shoulder hurt immediately after surgery. I had more pain and discomfort from my shoulder then I did from my surgery incision. I was right handed as well and have learned to do everything left handed. It's been 11 months since my surgery and I still have problems, but not like before. I had my worst time in July and August. I was basically paralyzed in my right arm. I'm still left hand dominant, but am slowly getting back to using my right hand for things. It's been tough, but I think the worst has past. I've been told and also feel that I'll make a full recovery. Which I'm very thankful for. I've started therapy after talking with a few UBPN folks and that has done wonders. It hasn't made me much stronger, but it's helped with the pain. It must have been hard having that happen at such a young age and not really understand what the problem was. Do you still have problems and pain?