First Time Here

[Inzer]

Hello,
My name is Robin. My son is 9 years old. He has good range of movement in his arm, but almost no use of his hand and fingers. We have seen Dr. Nath several times but he has referred us to a hand surgeon. The surgeon is suggesting a tendon transfer that would allow the four fingers to open and close as one unit, instead of individually. Does anyone have any knowledge of this type of surgery. I would love to see him gain some use of his hand, but I'm hesitant about this. Thanks!

[francine]

Hi Robin! and welcome to the message boards. I don't know anything about this surgery but I just wanted to say hi to you. Hope you get some information about it.
-francine

[NancyP]

Hi Robin!

My daughter is going to have a gracilis muscle transfer. Is this what they want your son to have?

[admin]

Hi Nancy,

I don't know what they call it. The hand surgeon explained it as transfering one tendon which would conect to the four fingers, and another tendon would conect to the thumb. The hope is to give him some sort of grip so that he can perform simple functions like zipping his pants, holding a cup, etc...
What is a gracilis muscle transfer?

[TNT1999]

Hi, Robin. Welcome to the board. I'm sorry that you have a reason to have to be here though. My daughter is 3 y.o. and has not had to have this surgery (yet anyway, who knows what we'll face down the road regarding her hand). I recall a boy who was going to have this procedure done last year. I'm not sure if he actually had it done though. It was scheduled at TCH. You can see a description of what they planned by going to the event calendar at this site (Home - select Interactive along the left side - Event Calendar - March 2001 - then go to the 12th. As you'll see, his name is Matthew Wylie. His parents also set up a great website for him -- http://www.matthewwylie.homestead.com . Based on the info. on the website though, it looks like Matthew might not have had the procedure though. I'm sure if you email Kim, Matthew's Mom, she'll be glad to give you more info. The email addy on the calendar is kimw@wyliecpa.com (I don't know if that's still valid though). She was very helpful to me in the past when I was interested in Matthew's surgery. I will also be interested in hearing what you decide with your son. I'm sure this must be a very difficult step to take. I wish you well in your decision. BTW, my daughter has had surgery at TCH and lots of therapy and we're also doing estim (TES) at night. Ask any other ?s you have. Take care. -Tina (Mom to Nicole, 3 1/2 y.o., LBPI)

[kathy]

Hi, I've actually had two tendon transfers in the last 6 months. I did not get my injury at birth, mine was trauma. Do you know the name of the transfers? I had a transfer to restore some function to my thumb. He took one tendon from my index finger and rerouted it to my thumb. The next one was called a Brand transfer. He took a tendon from my leg (left no deficit in my leg) and transferred it so I could get some grip strength. I have been very pleased so far. If I can answer any more questions, please feel free to e-mail me.

Kathy

[jody o.]

My son had a tendon transfer in Toronto. It was done to keep his wrist in an upright position (fingers kind of pointing upright) instead of curling under (waiters tip) position. He is 4, and has been wearing a post-op splint (24/7..except for baths & quiet time) since May...will have to keep it on until December. We are extremely pleased with the position his wrist/hand is in now. Much more functional and "normal" looking. He uses it much much more too. If you trust this surgeon, the tendon transfer can be a good surgery...anything to make the hand more functional is great.