United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

We were told by a neurosurgeon that these (MRI, EMG & NCS) were the only test that could be done to determine damage of the nerve. What are other test that can be done?

Nick's info; According to THEM...NCS/EMG shows nerve damage to the median nerve. It is unresponsive. Nick has atrophied muscles in hand, and arm, no use of thumb, index finger, or middle finger on right side(dominant), his right shoulder slouches, and he is in constant pain.

The closest Mayo Clinic to us is in Jacksonville, Florida (7 hour drive) Anyone here familiar with the doctors at Mayo in Florida?

Thanks for any info. - Sherry

Hi Sherry,
We are also from Alabama as well and we have been given the same information that you have. My son had his accident on April 27, 2008 and we have had many questions answered on this message board. I am not familiar with the Mayo clinic in Jacksonville, but we have been in contact with Mayo in MN. We are hoping to have our first appointment sometine in August. I'm sure there is someone on this board that is familiar with the Jacksonville clinic and they will respond!!! Best of luck to you and I will certainly pass along any information that I hope is helpful.

Rosaline

Thanks Rosaline, we hope all goes well for your son. We're in Selma, but have been to Bham several times only to be very disappointed and disheartened. We're praying that there's a doctor that actually cares somewhere out there, but we haven't had any luck finding ONE!

Sherry

Sherry,

Keep up the fight. Finding a BP doctor is not easy to do. Most Doctors don't know what to do about it. I had to travel from Portland, OR to St. Louis to have my surgery. In a case like this it is really worth the travel and expense. Sometimes if you can get a doctor to refer you to a specialist who is out of state insurance will pick up the travel costs. Especially if the injury is work related.

Best of luck and head up!

Joel

Sherry,
Dr. Robert Tiel is at University of Mississippi now. He is an excellent neurosurgeon and has worked with Dr. David Kline, one of the pioneers in BPI surgery at LSU, for years. I met up with him when he was at LSU and found him extremely knowledgeable, concerned, and generous with his time. We ended up both agreeing that the Mayo Clinic in MN could offer me better surgeries for the extent of my injury.

If your son doesn't have any avulsions, or limited to one, I would think Dr. Tiel would be an excellent option, considering where you live. I don't believe the Mayo in AZ has a BPI team.

Here are links to his info I found doing a quick search.
http://neurosurgery.umc.edu/faculty.html
http://www.umhc.com/Physician.asp?P=Y&P ... =PHY002912
http://www.umhc.com/OPage.asp?PageID=OTH000400

Good Luck,
Chris

Thanks for the information Chris...Have you had any surgeries at the MN Mayo yet? If so, were they successful? I certainly pray they were. I am going to discuss going to Dr. Tiel with my husband (who is the injured party) Jackson, MS is about 5 hours from us which is closer than the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonvill, FL by about 2 hours. We thank you again for taking time to post...You have been more helpful than you realize.
God Bless,
Sherry & Nick

Hi Sherry & Nick,
Yes, I had all my surgeries at the Mayo Clinic in MN. They were all successful as well. I don't believe the other Mayo Clinics in AR and FL have specialty departments for BPI.

The team in MN are top notch. I've been recommending them for five years now to anyone who will listen.

I had only recommended Dr. Tiel because it didn't sound like you wanted to travel the distance. One thing you'll discover shortly, if you haven't already, is that specialists for this injury are far and few in between. And if your arm is as important to you as mine is/was to me, you'll travel to the moon to make it right again. Hell I'd travel to the sun.

Best of luck!
Chris