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Improvement of urological-management abilities in individuals with tetraplegia by reconstructive hand surgery
Y Kiyono1, C Hashizume, K Ohtsuka
1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Shinshu University School of Medicine, 3-1-1 Asahi, Matsumoto, Nagano, 390-8621 Japan.
Objective:
To evaluate whether reconstructive hand surgery could improve the ability of tetraplegic patients to perform clean intermittent self-catheterization (CIC).
Materials And Methods:
The subjects were patients with complete traumatic tetraplegia admitted to the Nagano Rehabilitation Center between 1977 and 1996. A total of 63 subjects were included in this study with an age range of 18-73 years (mean 38.2 years). Reconstructive hand surgery was performed on 44 hands (28 cases). Current urological conditions were assessed by interview or mail questionnaire.
Results:
Fifty-one per cent (22/43) of the patients with C6 level of tetraplegia and 86% (12/14) of those with C7 or C8 neurological level of injury could perform CIC independently and only one subject needed assisted CIC.
Conclusion:
CIC is the preferred option for people with tetraplegia. Reconstructive hand surgery is thus recommended to make urological management more independent for a selected group of people with tetraplegia.
