United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

My son had his 5th surgery in October 2013. Since the day of surgery he complained of his left pinky finger feeling numb and tingly. When we returned for his 4 week follow up and cast removal, his pinky finger was drawing in a bent position and has been that way since. He is unable to straighten his finger out without help from his right hand. He has lost all sensation and feeling in his pinky finger, part of his ring finger, and in his arm along the ulnar nerve route. He has lots of pain and discomfort in his left elbow. His pinky finger stays cooler than the other and the skin along his left arm is really dry. After several months, he has to have surgery in April to free the ulnar nerve. I am just curious if any other family has had to go through this. What are your experiences? I'm kind of worried since the nerve has been trapped since October. I hope that it is a simple the nerve was just trapped and not cut, stretched, or torn. I know nerves take a long time to heal and unfortunately my son's first 3 nerve surgeries never fixed his birth injury problems. I'm just not sure what to expect.

Hi!

I truly have empathy for your family. Having nerve damage does create a numerous amount of issues. Such as, numbness, neuropathy, Hoffman's Syndrome, Loss of use of limb/hand, and adjusting to these issues.

The surgical procedure for nerves is a painstaking, precise, and not always solving the BPI. In 2007, I had spinal cord surgery for the cervical area (C2-C6). I was on the operating table for seven and one-half hours. I was extremely lucky to have a specialist place cadaver bone to build up my neck, followed by a fusion of the vertebrate. The specialist literally needed to place the nerves onto the vertebrate. One year of rehabilitation. And, lots of mental health therapy. I have 99% ROM of my neck with tingling in both hands at the fingertips. At times, I get spasms, cramps, and uncontrolled limb movement. However, with daily usage and exercising, I have overcome most of the issues. I'm still ROBPI. Don't give up. Keep researching procedures.

Tony (ASC)
ROBPI/Adult