Isolated and combined lesions of the axillary nerve - A review of 146 cases

We have assessed the final strength of the deltoid in 121 patients who had repair of isolated or combined lesions of the axillary (circumflex) nerve a nd were available for statistical analysis. Successful or useful results we re achieved in 85% after grafting of isolated lesions. The strength was sta tistically better when patients had grafting of:the axillary nerve within 5 .3 months from the time of injury The dramatic decrease in the rate of succ ess seen with longer delays suggests that surgery should be undertaken with in three months of injury. A statistically significant downward trend of th e rate of success was noted with increasing age. The force and level of inj ury to the shoulder play an important role in the type, combination and lev el of nerve damage and the incidence of associated rotator-cuff, vascular a nd other injuries to the upper limb. Management of isolated and combined le sions of the axillary nerve after injury to the shoulder needs to be thorou gh and systematic.