RESTORATION OF SENSIBILITY IN THE HAND AFTER COMPLETE BRACHIAL-PLEXUSINJURY

Twenty-one patients with complete brachial plexus palsy due to the avu lsion of multiple cervical nerve roots underwent motor and sensory rec onstruction. Of these, 15 patients who had been followed for at least 2 years were included in the present study. Sensory reconstruction was performed by nerve graft or nerve crossing to the median nerve. The d onor nerves included the supraclavicular nerve in 10 patients, the int ercostal nerve in 3, and the C5 nerve root in the first 2 patients. Li mited sensibility in the median nerve distribution of the hand was res tored in 12 patients, and the results were classified as S2+ in 2, S2 in 4, S1 in 6, and S0 in 3, according to the S0 to S4 grading system. No moving two-point discrimination was restored in any case. While the best recovery obtained was only at the S2+ level, even this limited s ensibility was useful for otherwise completely anesthetic patients.