United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

By "outside" for the nerve transplant I meant at 6 mos as they feel it is optimum time to have it done. We will also be back to mayo Aug 21st with gracilis transfer surgery on the 22cd. Not sure how long we will have to stay.
Sue

Hi GMcG
We are in Canada. Our son had a TBPI a year ago. We were referred to a NS here, but his news was so scary that I got on the internet right away. By the time I found this forum, I had also found 3 surgeons, and I discovered from folks here that they were recognized as among the best in the english-speaking world.

One was the Mayo Clinic. Even though our NS here is reputed to be the best in Canada, he only sees about 15 TBPIs a year, versus the 100plus that the Mayo docs do, so we went with the Mayo, even though everyh penny came out of our own pocket. Very happy. In the end, after three separate visits, our son recovered enough on his own that they all agreed surgery wasn't necessary. Good luck,


Message was edited by: fortitudine

Well, Christopher, I have made it home from my overwheming trip to Mayo Clinic, Oh My! I now understand the extent of my injuries (avulsion of the nerves, likely all the way down to C5?) and I am trying to grasp my surgical options for recovery. Because of the way the rest of my body was hurt in the car crash I was in this spring and the fact that I am just beginning to heal, it is really hard for me to consider such massive surgery so soon. Cutting into any of the limbs that are healing -- or my torso and "good arm", the only parts that haven't been damaged -- is very hard to handle at this moment, and I'm considering minimizing my first operation. I do have some fear, I will admit. Like you at the time of your accident, I'm single and 30, and my parents live on the other side of the country. I live in the coastal redwoods of northern California, very isolated at a time like this, and have to change career paths after this accident. There is a lot to consider.
I would like to know a little more about your recovery process: did you stay in Rochester or return home right after discharge from Mayo? Do you remember how long it was until you felt well enough to be functional again? My family is urging me to stay a bit longer in the Minnesota area after surgery if I choose to go that route, but I don't know how long that would be necessary since the hospital stay is so short. I am very concerned about follow-up visits, stitches, scarring, infections, residual pain, and other complications. Anything else you can tell me?