Obstetrical brachial plexus palsy

Obstetrical brachial plexus palsy is considered to be the result of a trauma during the delivery, even if there remains some controversy surrounding the causes. Although most babies recover spontaneously in the first 3 months of life, a small number remains with poor recovery which requires surgical brachial plexus exploration. Surgical indications depend on the type of lesion (producing total or partial palsy) and particularly the nonrecovery of biceps function by the age of 3 months. In a global palsy, microsurgery will be mandatory and the strategy for restoration will focus first on hand reinnervation and secondarily on providing elbow flexion and shoulder stability. Further procedures may be necessary during growth in order to avoid fixed contractured deformities or to give or increase strength of important muscle functions like elbow flexion or wrist extension. The author reviews the history of obstetrical brachial plexus injury, epidemiology, and the specifics of descriptive and functional anatomy in babies and children. Clinical manifestations at birth are directly correlated with the anatomical lesion. Finally, operative procedures are considered, including strategies of reconstruction with nerve grafting in infants and secondary surgery to increase functional capacity at later ages. However, normal function is usually not recovered, particularly in total brachial plexus palsy.