United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

I spoke to a mom,she and her specialist believe in self healing......is there such a thing??

Please reply to this post as I think she will read it.

Her baby is 6 months old.

Please give as much info about BPI as you possibly can.

I tried to via email.

This mom also thinks it is her fault,please reassure her that it is not.

Thanks so much.I am sure she will appreciate your help.

A BPI specialist can usually tell how serious the injury is by what kind of movement appears at different time frames. They look for hand to mouth at 4-6 month range. If the child doesn't have hand to mouth without the assistance of gravity by time then they know - something is stopping it and surgical intervention is considered.

There is a study that Gilbert did in France...I think there is documentation about it on the TCH site...www.texaschildrenshospital.org (patient care centers-left side - Select - brachial plexus) - too villages, two doctors, one did surgery one did not and they tracked outcomes. Outcomes were much better with surgery.

Families that choose surgery are very passionate about their choices and families that don't choose surgery are very passionate about their choices as well.

It's very important to eduate yourself about this as best as you can and weigh the risks as you see them. Then you will make the right choices for your child - no matter what side of the coin you fall on.

-francine

There is a difference between waiting 4-6 months and some doctors that would like you to wait 1 year and then you are getting out of that timeframe that brings the best % succes. It is a tough decision as Francine said it so well. She took the words right out of my mouth...way to go Francine !!!

I am not sure but I do believe that it might be myself that she is talking about because my Specialist does not believe in surgery, he believes in self healing, I do not really understand anything about the way the sugery works but I do understand that my husband feels that our daughter is just a baby and he doesn't want her to be a scarred, so could someone please explain what is better surgery or self healing and explain to me what all the surgery entails? If anyone can give me any information about BPI surgery and any other kind of information I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you so very kindly for listening to me blapper on. And yes I do feel that it is my fault for what has happened to her, even though my husband assures me that it is not. Thank Danielle

So are ya'll asuming self healing = no surgeries, sounds like it to me. We have opted not to activly persue surgical treatment for our son, and no he did not get hand to mouth until well past 1 yr old. However we are not relying on him to "self heal". There are plenty of non surgical treatments that can aid in healing BPI. Various therapies, chiropractic care, acupuncture, taping, estim, and I'm sure there are other's I'm not thinking or aware of. I agree with Francine in that it is very important to educate yourself. You can not rely on your docs to have all the answers, and some is very inacurate. If you feel compelled to seek more invasive treatment then it is important to persue that path. However my point is that do not feel that not choosing to go the surgical route is totally not the same as self healing. If your child is in any therapy they are getting help in healing. Also it is in no way a mother's fault when a child is injured during birth. I am sure that is one point everyone here can agree on. However I would be surprised if anyone here has not felt that in some way it was their fault at some point. I did, but had no reason's why, just mom guilt I guess, and it passed quickly.

If the nerves were not torn, but only stretched, well then yes, I see what your specialist is saying about taking a conservative approach to surgery. Our daughter is 15 months and has regained 85% use of her arm through intensive therapies. Several specialists we saw all confirmed that an infant's nerves can continue to regenerate up to two years. Have you gotten more than one opinion regarding the injury your child sustained? I am a full believer in the Texas Children's Hospital because they are the ones who have treated thousands of children and who are in the forefront with this research. I understand that you can send them a video tape and that they can review and confer with you...

Danielle,
I know most of the women here will be able to provide you with a lot of good information on the surgical treatment of BPI. I'm sure you'll be able to sort through it and face the decision informed and with a calm head with their help. I feel like I'll be the voice of disention here, but your story sounds simlilar to mine. My DH was and is 100% opposed to surgical and other invasive treatment on our ds. It is not that we do not want the best for our ds, however for us the best does not have to be synonomous with optimum function. I was very reluctant as far as the idea of surgery goes, so he did not have to convince me. It is important to remember that BPI surgeries are very major and extremly invasive proceedures. You should not feel like you are not doing the best if you and your dh decided not to persue surgical treatment at this time. You are not a bad parent if you decided that the most function possible is what you feel is the main objective in handling your child's injury. You will notice this board tends to lean more towards surgeries. There are an awfully lot of posts here from parents who have had/are having surgery. I just wanted you to be aware that there are plenty of parents who are not opting for surgerical treatment on their own accord also. Pam

I meant you should not feel like a bad parent if the most function possible by any means is *not* your main focus in treating your child's injury above. Just needed to correct and clarify.

My partner is bpi with avulsions confirmed through a CT-myelogram. He is 45 years old. He has pursued physical therapy and works on range of motion daily.

Along the way, he has seen massage therapists, a chiropractor, an accupuncurist. Two indivuals have insisted that the body can heal itself and that surgery is unnecessary. I don't think that either of these extremely supportive and positive people clearly understood the injury. My question for them is, if Kevin had an amputated hand and a hand transplant was an option, would you insist that the body can grow a new hand? The best response to this question (from another body worker) was, "I do believe the body can grow a new hand or nerve roots. But it would take a master and I'm not there yet, are you?" This really helped both of us in the decision to pursue surgery.

I do think that alternative therapies have helped tremendously with Kevin's pain. I think the body and mind need all the support we can give it. But I feel strongly that if the nerve roots are avulsed, it would be a miracle for them to regenerate. And miracles are something I do believe in.

Take good care in making decisions for your daughter.
Get as much information as you can, following the course of action suggested in the earlier posts. Then trust your intuition.

My heart goes out to you,
Mary

Danielle - here's some things to read...

on the homepage of this site - look at the right side and there is a button for Information for New Parents...this explains the time frames for recovery, etc.

then in here http://ubpn.org/awareness - if you click on birth injury - there will be some good things in there to read as well

and then at www.texaschildrenshospital.org - patient care center (on left), select care center, brachial plexus..... if you click on the link of the bpi clinics page for more info on bpi... you will find some articles you can read about the studies, repairs, etc.

...there are probably a good 50 sites I can point you to that will give you the same type of information as well....just let me know if you want more (and more and more and more lol lol)....

take care,
francine