United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Hi everyone. I need some feedback from Y'all. Dr. Nath tentatively had called my condition Parsonage-Turner Syndrome which generally fully recovers in 4 months to 2 years. I can live with that. But now he says that if it is a TBPI then the optimal time to operate is 3 months post injury. The problem is that there is no test to differentiate between the two conditions. He said that often an exploratory surgery lets him visualize the nerve to see if it is traumatized directly. So, what would you do, take a chance that it is Parsonage-Turner because the symptoms fit well; or do a surgery that he says is difficult to see good results. ( He said that shoulders are difficult to see good results from an nerve transfer.) I kinda feel that it is a real "danged if you do, danged if you don't".. The only pain I have is when I try to make the arm do things it can't do. My neck and back muscles get stiff and sore from making up for the dead shoulder girdle. I am very interested of any of you were presented with the same decision and how you came about making a wise decision. May your day be pain free. Thanks, Mark

Mark this is a tough one and I hope that yuo find some answers with in yourself. This is really somethign that you should sit down with Nath and tak about, weigh out the pros and cons and see... Best of luck to you..


COurt xx

If I were you I would get a second opinion from a doctor whose main area of interest is trauma bpi and who is familiar with cases like yours.
Hope you get some answers soon, try not to worry, hard though it is!
Jen NZ

Thanks Jen--I am waiting to hear back from Mayo in Rochester, I called them on Monday and they said they would get back with me in a couple of days. Thanks for caring. Have a pain free day. Mark

Hi Mark,
Sorry to hear that you are having trouble. My son was diagnosed by a local ortho as having Parsonage-Turner in 02/04 (even thought he had a history of serious weightlifing and pitching). In 04/05 we went back to the ortho because he had no strength and also was still winging. To make a long story short - I found Dr.Nath's website scheduled a consult. He felt that it was a stretch BPI and we scheduled surgery. I was very concerned because we were 14 months post injury and I was afraid if we waited too long the muscle wouldn't respond to nerve impulses. My biggest fear was that after the surgery he would have pain (he doesn't). In his case it was the right decision because he is now almost 4 months post-op and says that his arm feels great. About 10 days post-op he noticed sore muscles in his shoulder girdle. We were so excited! He has continued to get better and says that the arm feels great!
When all of this first started in 2004 we took him to a Chiropractor - his neck and back was all out of whack (and one of the orthos told us it was a pinched nerve). I had not had any experience with a Chiropractor before, but it really seemed to take the stress off of his neck & back.
I don't know if any of this helped you but I will keep you in my prayers. I know what a tough decision you are facing.
Good luck & God Bless,
Christine

Hi Christine,
Thanks for your time in your reply. Was your son's surgery a nerve transfer, or a graft or did Dr. Nath just see a fairly normal nerve and close him up? How long was your son "laid up" after the surgery? His progress is encouraging--is he throwing fastballs yet?
Thanks a ton and have a great weekend. Mark