Tetraplegia-Review of Upper Extremity Nerve Transfer in Cervical Spinal Cord Injury

Review of Upper Extremity Nerve Transfer in Cervical Spinal Cord Injury

Pdf Summary

This review discusses the use of nerve transfers for upper limb reanimation in tetraplegia. The study searched through previous literature to find cases of nerve transfer in individuals with cervical spinal cord injuries. A total of 103 manuscripts were initially selected, but after full-text analysis, only 13 studies contained extractable data. These studies reported a total of 89 nerve transfers in 59 patients, with a mean age of 34 years. The mean time to surgery after spinal cord injury was 19.9 months, and the mean follow-up time was 18.2 months. All case reports showed some level of improvement in recipient muscle power, rated using the Medical Research Council (MRC) scale. However, two earlier case series reported more variable results. The review documents the current status of nerve transfer surgery for upper limb reanimation in tetraplegia and summarizes the functional results in 59 cases with 89 nerve transfers performed. It suggests that nerve transfers show promise as a reconstructive option and may provide novel options in cases not amenable to conventional tendon transfers. However, larger studies with longer-term follow-up are needed to draw more accurate conclusions on the role of nerve transfers in tetraplegic patients.

Keywords

nerve transfers

upper limb reanimation

tetraplegia

cervical spinal cord injuries

literature search

case reports

recipient muscle power

Medical Research Council scale

reconstructive option

long-term follow-up