[Brachial plexus lesions from the neurosurgical view]

Neurosurgery does not claim to have improved surgery of the brachial plexus. But achievements in microsurgery have advanced surgical possibilities in several faculties. Neurosurgery for example has introduced considerable improvements concerning the assessment of intraforaminal or intraspinal root injuries. Intraoperative inspections of roots via hemi-laminectomy allowed to determine specificity and sensitivity of modern radiological imaging by correlating intraoperative findings with the results of the radiological imaging. Using determined axial MRI with thin sections, we showed root avulsion in a very high quantity. These findings led us to modify our surgical concept. Operations with long exploration were reduced and preoperative planning of neurotisation was improved due to the preoperative diagnostics.