TREATMENT OF IRREVERSIBLE LESION OF THE RADIAL NERVE BY TENDON TRANSFER - INDICATION AND LONG-TERM RESULTS OF THE MERLE DAUBIGNE PROCEDURE

Irreversible radial nerve paralysis should be treated by tendon transf er reconstruction to improve wrist and finger extension and stabilizat ion of the thumb joints. Many different techniques and modifications a re known and used. A total of 43 patients, all of whom underwent the M erle d'Aubigne procedure. were examined in a long-term follow-up study . Short-term and long-term subjective and objective results were evalu ated. The improvement of the motions between initial and followup exam inations could be demonstrated. Thirty-eight patients were able to ret urn to their former jobs. Interestingly, the majority of the patients were able to move their fingers separately. This finding could be prov ed by the electromyography and explained by the counteracting flexor t endons. The overall findings indicate that the Merle d'Aubigne procedu re is an excellent and reliable tendon transfer method.