Brachialis Muscle Transfer to the Forearm Muscles in Obstetric Brachial Plexus Palsy

2006 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 261-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. BERTELLI
Keyword(s):  
Brachial Plexus ◽  
Hand Function ◽  
Brachial Plexus Palsy ◽  
Muscle Transfer ◽  
Wrist Extension ◽  
Active Motion ◽  
Obstetric Brachial Plexus Palsy ◽  
Brachialis Muscle ◽  
Obstetric Brachial Plexus ◽  
Extensor Carpi Radialis

Tendon transfers are frequently needed to improve hand function in obstetric brachial plexus injuries. The reconstruction cannot always be achieved using local donor transfers in the forearm as these are not always available. In such cases, we propose the use of the brachialis muscle as a useful donor for transfer. Five adolescents with obstetric brachial plexus palsy were operated on to reconstruct wrist extension and/or pronation using the brachialis muscle transfer to the pronator teres ( n = 1) extensor carpi radialis brevis ( n = 1) and extensor carpi radialis longus ( n = 3). Twelve months after surgery, average active motion recovery was 20° for wrist extension and 14° for pronation. Active and passive range of motion was similar.

Tendon Transfer to Reconstruct Wrist Extension in Children with Obstetric Brachial Plexus palsy

2003 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. M. Al-QATTAN
Keyword(s):  
Brachial Plexus ◽  
Tendon Transfer ◽  
Brachial Plexus Palsy ◽  
Wrist Extension ◽  
Obstetric Brachial Plexus Palsy ◽  
System A ◽  
Flexor Carpi Ulnaris ◽  
Obstetric Brachial Plexus ◽  
Wrist Drop ◽  
Extensor Carpi Radialis

This study reports on 20 children with obstetric brachial plexus palsy who underwent a tendon transfer to reconstruct wrist extension. The mean age at the time of tendon transfer was 8 years. There were seven patients with Erb’s palsy and the remaining 13 had total palsy. The flexor carpi ulnaris was utilized 15 times and the flexor carpi radialis five times. The transferred tendon was sutured to the tendon of the extensor carpi radialis brevis. The result of the transfer was assessed according to a modified Medical Research Council (MRC) muscle grading system. A good result was obtained in 18 patients (modified MRC grade of 4) and a fair result (modified MRC grade of 3) in two. The choice of tendon transfer to reconstruct the wrist drop deformity in various conditions including adult traumatic brachial plexus injuries is discussed.

Bilateral Elbow Flexion Reconstruction with Functioning Free Muscle Transfer for Obstetric Brachial Plexus Palsy

2002 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 484-486 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. S. BALIARSING ◽  
K. DOI ◽  
Y. HATTORI
Keyword(s):  
Brachial Plexus ◽  
Elbow Flexion ◽  
Gracilis Muscle ◽  
Brachial Plexus Palsy ◽  
Muscle Transfer ◽  
Nerve Roots ◽  
Obstetric Brachial Plexus Palsy ◽  
Shoulder Joints ◽  
Muscle Transfers ◽  
Obstetric Brachial Plexus

A child suffered a bilateral obstetric brachial plexus palsy involving the C5 and C6 nerve roots. Abduction of the shoulder joints had recovered by 1 year, but elbow flexion did not recover on either side. Free gracilis muscle transfers were performed on both sides, at an interval of 6 months, to achieve elbow flexion. The spinal accessory nerve was used as the donor nerve.

scholarly journals Assessment of upper extremity movement performance of patients with obstetric brachial plexus palsy

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ligia C. S. Fonseca ◽  
Annika K. Nelke ◽  
Jörg Bahm ◽  
Catherine Disselhorst-Klug
Keyword(s):  
Brachial Plexus ◽  
Upper Extremity ◽  
Objective Data ◽  
Brachial Plexus Palsy ◽  
Obstetric Brachial Plexus Palsy ◽  
Movement Performance ◽  
Obstetric Brachial Plexus ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Acceleration Signals ◽  
Upper Extremity Movement

Abstract:Coping strategies of patients with obstetric brachial plexus palsy (OBPP) are highly individual. Up to now, individual movement performance is assessed by visual observations of physicians or therapists - a procedure, which is highly subjective and lacks objective data. However, objective data about the individual movement performance are the key to evidence-based and individualized treatment. In this paper, a new approach is presented, which provides objective information about the upper extremity movement performance of patients with OBPP. The approach is based on the use of accelerometers in combination with a classification procedure. The movement performance of 10 healthy volunteers and 41 patients with OBPP has been evaluated by experienced physiotherapists and has been assigned to one of 4 categories representing the Mallet Scale (MS) IV to I. Three triaxial-accelerometers were placed at chest, upper arm and wrist of the affected side of the patient. Acceleration signals have been recorded during repetitive movements with relevance regarding daily life. Here, especially the results from the “hand to mouth” task are presented. From the 9 recorded acceleration signals 13 relevant features were extracted. For each of the 13 features 4 thresholds have been determined distinguishing best between the 4 patient categories of the MS and the healthy subjects. With respect to the thresholds each feature value has been assigned to the discrete numbers 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4. Afterwards, each discrete number has been weighted by a factor regarding the correlation between the feature’s value and the MS score. The resulting weighted discrete numbers of all 13 features have been added resulting in a score, which quantifies the individual upper extremity movement performance. Based on this score the movement performance of each patient has been assigned to the classes “very good”, “good”, “regular” and “bad”. All movements of the 10 healthy volunteers were classified as “very good”. The movement performance of two patients MS IV were classified as “very good” as well and the movements of the other 16 patients as “good”. The movements of the entire group of MS III patients fell into the class “regular”. Just one MS II patient was assigned to the class “regular” while the others were classified as “bad”. It was not possible to classify the movements of MS I patients. This was mainly due to the fact that none of these patients MS I was able to complete the task successfully. The developed approach demonstrated its ability to quantify the movement performance of upper extremity movements based on accelerometers. This provides an easy to use tool to assess patient’s movement strategies during daily tasks for diagnosis and rehabilitation.

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