New to site with Brachial Plexopathy???

[J]

I too am new to this site. I had shoulder surgery last year and, due to regaining only about 80% of my ROM following the operation, my Dr. convinced me to have a MUA (manipulation under anesthesia) to "break up" the scar tissue. Mind you, prior to this date, I was able to lift my arm up and down, do to work, drive a car, exercise, etc. I had the MUA on 4-10-2007 and ever since then cannot lift my left arm and have had nearly 0% use of my deltoid, infraspinatus and suprasinatus muscles. My Dr. blames the Nerve Block and the Anesthesiologist blames the "traction" of the MUA for the injury. Either way, I have no idea what's up. I have had 2 EMG's now and they show problems with the axillary and suprascapular nerves. I just want to get better and will do whatever it takes. I am in PT each week but want to find a good neurologist / neurosurgeon for consult. The pain is quite intense in the back of my shoulder and scapula and the pins and needles radiate into the left arm all the time. Is this a "forever" problem or is there real hope out there? Thanks.

[Tanya in NY]

Am I understanding you correctly that you had shoulder surgery (not because you already had a brachial plexus injury, but for some other reason), and now you are having some residual effects since the shoulder surgery?

Did you post this question on the traumatic brachial plexus forum as well, as you might get some answers on that forum, too.

I wish I could help you out, but my experience is with obstetrical brachial plexus injuries, or when the injury occurs during the birth process, as this is what occurred with my daughter.

Best wishes.

Tanya in NY
Amber's Mom, ROBPI, 4 years old

[ptrefam]

Sorry to hear of your injury. My son has a TBPI so I am not sure with your injury. But with BPI it is improtant that you see a specialist in the field. Many neuro drs. do not have enough knowledge in this area. We were lucky that ours told us right out he didn't do surgery there. Dustin went to see the BPI drs at Mayo in MN. I am very glad we did.

As far as recovery it depends on the severity of the injury. If it is stretch there is a chance for recovery. However the Mayo team did tell us right out that 100% recovery is rare. You need to keep in mind that nerves heal very slowly, about 1" per month. It is important to do ROM and PT or OT. But, I would definately recommend seeing a BPI dr. You can find them listed under the resources at the top of the page.

Best of luck.
Sue

[Wendy Lee]

Hey J, sorry to hear your doctors were so gungho on this. I think you should have had slow, easy PT to work on the problem. After a month or so they could have re-evaluated you and perhaps done an MRI to see exactly where the problem was. What they probably did was stretch or tear the nerves when they did the MUA because these nerves might have become embedded in the scar tissue. I think an MRI of the shoulder would be in order to see what they did to you at this point and in the meantime, painkillers and something like neurontin for nerve pain. How is the ROM now compared to right after the MUA?
Wendy

[Wendy Lee]

One other question, what was the initial surgery for on the shoulder? Was it rotor cuff? Just wondering because a fella I see in PT had this surgery and he's scheduled for an MUA in a week or so. I told him about your problem and he says the doctor never mentioned anything like this to him. Though now he's going to ask about the possibilities of this happening to him.
Wendy