United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Hi, I'm Scott and I was badly injured in a car wreck about 13 months ago. I have some use of my left arm, no use of my left hand and have unsuccessfully tried everything for the nerve pain. Although I've been seeing a neurologist, and am about fed up with the Pain Management doctors, my first consultation with a neurosurgeon is next week. Any inside info on what to expect would sure be appreciated. I'm only a few hours from the Mayo clinic. Is that a better option than the Univ. of Iowa Hosp. where I'm currently going? Is surgery really feasible after so much time?

Hi and welcome to the boards.
This one is for people who had injuries at birth, you will find more info for your case on the Traumatic Injured board.
You are of course welcme to post on any board, but for your questions you will get a better response from the Traumatic Board.
http://ubpn.org/messageboard/forum.jspa?forumID=18

Marieke (32, LOBPI)

Thanks Marieke......I saw that about 2 minutes after I posted here. I'm on the traumatic list now, too. I thought it was bad having to put up with this for a year. You folks have dealt with it for a lifetime! Best of luck to all of us!

HI Ripp, glad you found this board too!
I think one dfference for us who were injured at birth is we tend to have less pain, at least when we are kids.. we get more issues as we grow up and develop compensation problems.
Good luck to you!
MArieke (32, LOBPI)

Scott,
I would recommend seeing a BPI specialist. I think that for a BPI you can't beat the team at the Mayo. Of course there are others out there that are also wonderful, but looks like you are in fairly close proximatey to Mayo. Their team works primarily with BPI. We were fortunate in that Dustin's neurosurgeon told us straight up that he was not the best person for this type of injury. I know that nerve grafts as a rule need to be done by 6 mos post injury. However this does not mean that there are not options. Some have had tendon and muscle grafts, I know that muscles can be grafted several years post accident. All these injuries seem to be as different as the people who have them. So what may be the best teatment for one may not be the best for yours. Sorry, I can't say much about the hand as my son is about oppisite of you. He has complete hand function but almost no arm. For Dustin at the Mayo he had an extensive EMG, and MRI, then they told us their plan of treatment. Best of luck and let us know how your appt goes. Glad you found these boards, you will find a world of knowledge and experience here. We've been here about 2 yrs now so we are still learning.
Sue

Thanks Sue. We'll see how it goes. The U. Of Iowa Hosp. is really a great and respected facility but specializes in vision treatment, heart problems, pediatrics and some cancer treatment. It's neurology dept. is primarily oriented toward problems caused by disease rather than injury. Since it's a university hospital, I've become somewhat of a visual aid for them. Not sure how I feel about that but if it helps them get more familiar with situations like mine, all the better. I'm confident they will at least refer me to the right place, possibly the Mayo (only about 5 hrs. from my home). I can understand why treatment within 6 months is important as the atrophy in my hand and lower arm is already pretty bad. Unfortunately, the other injuries from the accident were the priority then and now we can finally get around to the residual problems. Anyway, I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks for the interest!