Brachial Plexus Injury
Find your care
Our expert neurosurgery team is committed to providing the finest and most comprehensive patient care. For help finding a neurosurgeon, call 310-825-5111.
About Brachial Plexus Injury
General Information
- The brachial plexus lies in the neck and consists of a group of combining nerve roots that eventually divide again to form peripheral nerves.
- These nerves are responsible for movement and sensation in the shoulders, arms, forearms and hands, and some muscles of the back and chest.
Symptoms and diagnosis
- Symptoms of injury to the nerves of the brachial plexus vary depending upon which nerves are affected. Diagnosis depends on the symptoms.
- Upper plexus lesion
- The condition is caused by prolonged pulling on the arm at birth (Erb-Duchenne paralysis) or falls on the shoulder.
- Paralysis in the deltoid, supraspinatus and infraspinatus muscles causes weak shoulder, while paralysis in the biceps and brachoradialis prevents movement of the elbow.
- Posterior cord lesion
- The condition causes paralysis of the following muscles: deltoid (shoulder), triceps (straightens the elbow), extensor carpi radialis and ulnaris (straightens wrist), and extensor digitorum (straightens fingers).
- The injury prevents patients from straightening the affected arm, forearm and hand.
- Lower plexus lesion
- Caused by forced outstretch of the shoulder and arm at birth (Klumpke's paralysis) or trauma, the condition causes paralysis of certain hand muscles.
- Symptoms include a claw hand, sensory loss in the lower trunk, and Horner's syndrome. Symptoms of the syndrome include drooping eyelid, contracted pupils, absence of sweating and receding eyeball.
- Complete brachial plexus injury
- The condition results in a completely paralyzed arm with no sensation.
- Upper plexus lesion
Treatment
- Most injuries cause maximum symptoms at the time of the injury.
- Vascular injury can cause worsening of symptoms and needs to be addressed quickly to prevent ongoing deterioration. Treatment depends on the type of injury:
- Laceration
- Nerves damaged by clean, sharp, relatively fresh lacerations, such as those from a knife wound, should be surgically reconnected within 72 hours.
- Penetrating injuries with severe or complete loss of sensation should be explored as soon as the primary wound heals.
- Gunshot wounds
- Gunshots usually damage the nerves dues to the vibratory effect of the bullet and rarely divide the nerves.
- Surgery is of little benefit to these lesions and chances of full or partial recovery is small.
- Stretching
- Injuries related to stretching of the nerves will usually recover spontaneously within four months.
- Injuries with symptoms that continue after four to six months should be investigated surgically.
- Laceration