TBPI

[hdcrash]

I wrecked my motorcycle August,6,02. Received several injurys including traumatic brachial plexus injury with possible root avulsions at C5 C6 C7 T1. I go in for surgery January 13th for a nerve graft from my leg to repair the nerves that are damaged.My symptoms are no motor skills from elbow down very little feeling in thumb and underside of forearm that just returned in the past few weeks.A little bit of bicep but to week to lift my arm several shuolder muscles not working but slowly coming back.muscle atrophy from top of shoulder all the way down to fingertips.Also constant and severe pain from elbow down.I am very postive that I will regain most of the movement and strength in my shoulder,arm,and hand.With help from my doctors and therapist but the majority will be up to me or you if you have the same misfortune good luck and I will keep everyone posted after the surgery to give information and hope feel free to email me at hdcrash@aol.

[admin]

My boyfriend had a motorcycle accident on Aug 13. He also has right TBPI. He just had surgery on Dec 18. When the Dr's were inside the Brachial Plexus the damage was not as bas as first thought. (They originally thought some nerves were avulsed) Tim had two nerves that were stretched and some scar tissue that was removed. The doctors had him prepped and ready to perform a nerve graft but in the end it was not needed. They had a nerve specialist come in from Atlanta with special equipment to test the output of the nerves. His neurosurgeon stated that all his nerves were firing and and healing on their own. It will just take time (possible up to two years) and he can not guarantee 100%. My outlook is like yours. There is no reason he can't get full use back and we are pushing for sooner.
Good luck with your surgery and keep us posted.

[hdcrash]

Thanks for the response I wish the best of luck to you .Just hang in their and remeber the rest is up to him and you with time Iam sure hill get 100% use back tell him we need more success stories on this website If you dont mind my asking were are you from and who is the doctor.If you would like to know were Iam located and my doctors name look under tbpi chris.Iam not very good with computers yet and made a mistake and entered twice.

[hdcrash]

had surgery 1/13/03 pretty big incision but it looks pretty good healing very fst some places you can barley see a scar if anybody want more details of the surgery let me know be glad to share

[admin]

Glad to hear surgery went well. Tim is still going through therapy three days a week. (Surgery was on 12/18/02) We had his post op appt Jan 17 and found out that his stretched nerve is a trunk nerve and once that heals things should come back quicker. It is very slow now. He is getting a lot of sensation back in his lower arm. A couple of weeks ago he had goose bumps all the way down his arm and the color in his arm changes now with different temperatures. The little things make me happy, especially since before it was like a dead arm. Unfortunatley his pain is getting a lot worse. (I hope that's good) Well keep us informed on your progress.

[Gene]

Tanya, sounds like your boyfriend may have the same TBPI as my stepson...at least we're praying that his nerves are only stretched with scar tissue and that upcoming surgery will bring good results. We live in Atlanta and are intrigued by the reference to a nerve specialist from here. Would you click on my name and e-mail me directly so that we can get some additional information from you? Thanks!

hdcrash, we would love to get some more details about your surgery, where and who. Thanks!

Positive thoughts and prayers in both of your cases for a quick recovery and speedy progress from the recent surgeries.

[Kathleen M]

Gene

Sorry to hear about your stepsons injury ...

We have a Medical Resource Directory on this website I don't know if you checked it out or not but here is the link... I hope you find help soon and things go well for him.

http://ubpn.org/medicalresources/

Kath

[Gene]

Kath, thanks for the link, we've probably already been to every link possible...along with referrrals from our surgeons and neurologist here in Atlanta. This message board has been an invaluable learning and support tool for us.

We'll be going to the Mayo Clinic in MN on February 9 to consult with their team up there and specifically Dr. Allen Bishop. He's leading the upcoming BPI Reconstruction Clinic the end of May: http://www.assh.org/Content/NavigationM ... ure_v5.pdf If anyone else reading this post is seeking a surgeon, this clinic is the "Who's Who" in the field based on the research that we've done.

In March we'll have a consult at the LSU Medical Clinic in New Orleans with Dr. Robert Tiel. He, along with Dr. David Kline, runs the peripheral nerve clinic there. Dr. Kline will be on the faculty of the above mentioned clinic in May.

Based on the respective assessments by the doctors and our assessment of them, we'll then schedule surgery for John. John's accident occurred on 11/19/02, so we're well within the "best window" of timing for surgery and recovery. See post by EllenB, my wife, on 1/29 under the "Need Help" thread for some additional info on John's accident.

[Kathleen M]

Gene

Glad to hear you have some plans going for you... I wish you all the best and hope that your sons surgery goes well.

Dr. Bishop has been sent questionaires from UBPN so that they could be listed on our directory but we have not had a response yet... I actually called his office a few months ago and they were so nice to me... because my neurologist sent me a brochure he received from the Mayo and thought we would be interested... Hopefully they will respond and will be listed in the Resource directory.

Kath

[Gene]

Kath

My sense is that many of these specialists don't support the concept of bulletin boards. Either they feel that too much misinformation is being passed around or that patients will be "too" informed and ask challenging questions of them. I've noticed that many of the well known doctors don't appear in your Resource Directory, so I know it's frustrating to you when they don't respond.

Thanks for all that you do, and have done, to support the BPI community!

Gene