No abstract

Objective. To evaluate the usefulness of surgical neurolysis for neuropathic pain relief in patients with posttraumatic brachial plexus injury (BPI). Methods. A prospective, longitudinal, nonrandomized, self-controlled before and after study was performed to evaluate the pain changes according to their intensity using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), and the sensory recovery after surgery using the British Medical Research Council (BMRC) scale for sensory recovery. To establish significant changes, a paired T-test was performed, and in order to determine the magnitude of these changes, an effect size was measured. α = 0.05. Results. Ten patients were included with an average follow-up of 61.9 ± 53.62 months. The main mechanism of injury was vehicular trauma (70%). A significant decrease in pain after the surgical intervention was observed resulting from an average preoperative state according to VAS of 8.4 ± 1.58, to a postoperative state of 3.4 ± 3.27 (59.52%, p = 0.005, Δ = 1.572), added to a mean sensory improvement (25%) from 2.8 ± 1.62 to 3.5 ± 0.97 after surgery according to BMRC, without statistically significant changes ( p = 0.062 ), showing a moderate effect size (Δ = 0.413). Almost all patients showed improvement in the continuous and paroxysmal pattern of pain. No postoperative complications were observed. Discussion. These results suggest that in cases of BPI that originates from a compressive syndrome secondary to the posttraumatic fibrosis that surrounds the nerve structures causing strangulation and inducing hypernociception, the use of surgical neurolysis is an appropriate alternative for patients with medically refractory neuropathic pain.

Brachial plexus injuries (BPI) affect mostly the young population. The management of these injuries is complex and there are many surgical options for treatment. To evaluate the patient motor component, the British Medical Research Council motor grading scale (BMRC), range-of-motion (ROM), disability of the arm, shoulder, and hand questionnaire (DASH), and push and pull dynamometer are the main clinical assessment tools that provide information about the clinical status regarding motor function. The purpose of this chapter is to show the motor recovery on interventions that are available as surgical alternatives for the management of BPI, through a systematic review of the literature.