End-to-side nerve suture in traumatic injuries of brachial plexus: review of the literature and personal case series.
We used end-to-side nerve coaptation combined with standard end-to-end neurotisations to treat 11 patients who presented with complete (six cases) or incomplete (five cases) traumatic brachial plexus injuries. All patients were available for functional evaluation at a minimum of 2 years postoperatively. In three patients with shoulder abduction recovery, electromyographical studies (EMG) showed a contribution from the end-to-side neurotisation. In the remaining cases end-to-side neurotisations were unsuccessful. Our study did not demonstrate a reliable role for end-to-side nerve suture in brachial plexus surgery. We believe that at present end-to-side suture must not be a substitute for standard reconstructive techniques in brachial plexus surgery. Occasionally termino-lateral nerve sutures may represent a support to standard reconstructive procedures especially in case of severe injuries when few undamaged donor nerves are available.
Battiston
B
B
UOD Reconstructive Microsurgery, Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, A.O. CTO-Maria Adelaide, Torino, Italy.
Artiaco
S
S
Conforti
L G
LG
Vasario
G
G
Tos
P
P
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001917:Brachial Plexus / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016067:Nerve Transfer; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011843:Radiculopathy / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013536:Suture Techniques; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult