Five Operations That Give the Best Results after Brachial Plexus Injury

Treatment of brachial plexus injuries has improved slowly over the past 45 years. Changes in strategy, techniques, microsurgical equipment, and technology have expanded the surgical options for reconstructing these life-altering, highly complex injuries. The surgical techniques available include neurolysis, nerve repair, nerve grafting, nerve transfers, tendon transfer, muscle transfer, and other soft- and bony-tissue procedures. In this article, the authors have selected five surgical procedures (i.e., Oberlin procedure, Leechavengvongs procedure, free functional muscle transfer, radial nerve tendon transfers, and C5-C6 nerve grafting in obstetric birth palsy) that have consistently yielded good results in patients who require surgical reconstruction.