United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

at the last meeting I was at in which I saw a presentation by Dr.Nath - he was showing pictures on mri that show how the bpi injury site on the spinal cord also affects the spinal nerve and the nerves down the whole side leading to legs and feet. The nerve on the injured side going to the legs and feet often is also impaired and shows up on the mri being much smaller than on the other side . During such a traumatic birth more than just one isolated nerve to the arm can obviously be dammaged - the nerves to the feet and leg have been shown to be affected - it is definitely so on my son as well- and I would not be surprised that trauma to head the neck can cause vision and speech problems. The nerve damage down the entire side and all the compensatory movements can lead to spine curvatures that are not ideal as well.I think you are definitely on the right track.

Evee:
There have not been studies to show what ancillary effects bpi has on the body. All we have is anectodal evidence--that is, all of us talking about what we see.

I am sure that others will respond as well, but Juliana had torticollis, toeing in, gait issues, balance issues, speech issues, major sensory issues, mouth issues... And yes, we did therapy for everything.

Now, she is 5+ and in Kindergarten and still has some residual problems which we are addressing. But she is in a regular class and her friends don't think about her arm. She is talkative, funny, friendly, and very bright.

As for the lawyer...try another one. You can also search the site for information about lawsuits. There is a standard which has to be reached. You can post and ask Ken Levine to explain...

good luck,
claudia

My daughter has ALL of those issues, too and I know so many others that do, too. I have said for a long time that some of the "other" issues we have been dealing with have been so severe that they almost have to take priority over the bpi injury.

My daughter, ROBPI, had torticollis as a baby that caused her to develop plagiocephaly and she had to wear a helmet for 4 months. It was definitely a result of the Brachial plexus. She's also had multiple ear infections on her right side, vision troubles in her right eye, and her therapist says her right hip is "loose". She had an Xray to rule out hip dyslpasia. There are several websites out there that state that these are all a result of the brachial plexus injury. I can give those to you if you'd like them.

What is "toeing in"? Thank you.

Toeing in is when the feet point toward each other, instead of straight out from the body. It's also sometimes called "pigeon-toed." Our son has that problem. We were also told by Dr. Nath that that could be BPI-related because of the issues already mentioned.

I agree: GET A NEW LAWYER! Most lawyers don't know diddly squat about BPI.

Janet

My baby also was diagnosed with plagiocephaly. I hope I spelled it right. But, it was not diagnosed till he was 11 months. He had it as an infant but his doctor just didnt know what to do. She just told me to lay my baby on his other side to even out his head shape. When they finally found it they told me they can give him a helmet but its too late and probably wont help. My son has a lump on his forehead. You can see it only at an angle not to noticeable. Please let me know about those websites or any other info.
thanks
evee

torticollis -- Nicole had torticollis, which was resolved within about a year. I think it was defintely related to the BPI. It was her left (BP) side that she couldn't look to.

speech delays -- Nicole has always excelled in this area which I attribute to LOTS and LOTS of practice - LOL!

developmental delays -- the delays that Nicole has had have been all BPI-related (not crawling until 1 1/2 y.o., difficulties w/balance, ball skills, etc. etc.) Overall, she has compensated well and hasn't been too delayed, but where she has been, it's defintely attributed to the BPI.

leg length difference -- I don't even know if she has this problem. I know that her body is not symmetrical, but I don't know specifically about leg length difference.

feet problems -- Nicole had some in-toeing. I think it was related to the BPI b/c she W-sat a lot and held her legs internally rotated a lot b/c she used her legs a lot to compensate for her lack of hand function (she still does this, esp. when playing with her Barbies, but it's not as bad as it used to be). The Ortho. did say at the time though that in-toeing (aka femoral anteversion sp?) is common in very young children and that it would prob. be resolved by age 5 (?) and I believe it was around that time.

This is just our experience and I'm sure many others all have different and similar experiences. Regarding the attny, I agree with others that this attny doesn't know enough about the total body impacts of BPI and that you need to find another lawyer.

~Tina, Mom to Nicole (6 y.o. w/LBPI) & Joshua (1 y.o.)

Here are a few websites that have articles stating how Torticollis is related to Brachial Plexus:

www.nbpepa.org/protocol.htm

www.pedorthopaedics.com/pt/re/jpedortho

www.emedicine.com/pmr/topic215.htm

My daughter is 3 1/2 months old and seems to have an asymmetrical shaped head. She had horners, so the one eye is a bit smaller, but as she gets older, I notice the size differences more. Where would I go to get this problem diagnosed? A neurologist? Can this be corrected?

Thanks for the input!
Lauren (mom to Brooke)