United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

For those who watched the documentary or for John's family. It wasn't to clear for me why John got his muscle and tendon transfer that quick. Since he had root avulsion, isn't that they have to wait until the nervers grow and innervate the muscles.

Thanks,

Susana

For sure nerves from root avulsions don't grow back..I thought they did nerve t/fers for them initially within the first 6 months and only did the tendon t/fers if the nerve transfers didn't work.

no they used differnt nerves to control the muscle from the transfer but they went ahead and hooked up the new nerves to the muscle that was a transfer so the would have a passage way to grow thru although im not sure that how long they waited before they did the surgery i think its a new type procedure with my best guess

I guess is something new because he had his accident in November of last year. I got my surgery with Dr. Nath and he told we have to wait for the muscle transfer.

yea it must be because they told me the same thing and my surgery was in jan 03 but it seems like they are wasting nerves if they wait

hdcrash, who did your surgery?

Thanks,

Susana

Susana,

Thanks for your interest...instead of retyping, I've copied over one of my wife's previous posts:

"A little background... my son John is a 16 yr old who had all five nerves avulsed in a cycling accident (hit by a SUV) last November in Atlanta. He had two surgeries done at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, and the second surgery, done in April, was filmed by Discovery Health Channel for this documentary on the Mayo Clinic.

In this surgery, John had a gricilus muscle transferred to provide finger flexion (part of a double Doi procedure). He also had four intercostal nerves moved. (In the first surgery, he'd had the other gricilus taken for elbow flexion, his phrenic nerve & the C7 from his good side moved over.)"
Ellen

The doctors at Mayo move quickly, they've perfected these procedures and went into the first surgery with a few different gameplans, depending on what they discovered. Since they found all nerve roots avulsed, waiting would accomplish nothing. So they went ahead and did the first free muscle transfer; a C7 cross lateral transfer from John's right side and the harvesting of the phrenic nerve (a first for Mayo and perhaps for the U.S.).

John and his dad are at Mayo for his quarterly checkup and I just got off of the phone with them. Everyone is very pleased with the progress. The EMG revealed a flicker of nerve activity to his triceps and they feel that he will get some return of his biceps & scapula as well. This is why they wanted to move quickly and get spare nerves plugged into those muscles before they atrophy too much and die.

Hope this helps. Best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Gene

Susana,

Thanks for your interest...instead of retyping, I've copied over one of my wife's previous posts:

"A little background... my son John is a 16 yr old who had all five nerves avulsed in a cycling accident (hit by a SUV) last November in Atlanta. He had two surgeries done at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, and the second surgery, done in April, was filmed by Discovery Health Channel for this documentary on the Mayo Clinic.

In this surgery, John had a gricilus muscle transferred to provide finger flexion (part of a double Doi procedure). He also had four intercostal nerves moved. (In the first surgery, he'd had the other gricilus taken for elbow flexion, his phrenic nerve & the C7 from his good side moved over.)"
Ellen

The doctors at Mayo move quickly, they've perfected these procedures and went into the first surgery with a few different gameplans, depending on what they discovered. Since they found all nerve roots avulsed, waiting would accomplish nothing. So they went ahead and did the first free muscle transfer; a C7 cross lateral transfer from John's right side and the harvesting of the phrenic nerve (a first for Mayo and perhaps for the U.S.).

John and his dad are at Mayo for his quarterly checkup and I just got off of the phone with them. Everyone is very pleased with the progress. The EMG revealed a flicker of nerve activity to his triceps and they feel that he will get some return of his biceps & scapula as well. This is why they wanted to move quickly and get spare nerves plugged into those muscles before they atrophy too much and die.

Hope this helps. Best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Gene

Thank you Gene for your information on your son. Mayo wanted to move quickly on my surgeries, too. The soon the better, over time nerves and muscles weeken. They have come along way since my muscle transfer in 1988, I was the third they did at Mayo for my transfer. They want to do more muscle transfer but I'm not 20 anymore and it would require along recovery, alot of visits and intense PT. I'm a mother with 3 children; 7, 5 and 3. I've also done very well in the past 16 yrs being like this. I think I've excepted it. But believe me if I were 18 or 20 I'd go for it!! Good luck to your sons future!
Happy Thanksgiving.
Kathleen

dr yakuboff and his team did my surgery at university of cincinnati hospital who did yours gene shed a whole lot more light on the situation it makes more sense know thanks