Functional Outcomes after Treatment of Traumatic Brachial Plexus Injuries: Clinical Study

Introduction:
The aim of this study is to evaluate functional outcome and quality of life using statistically validated tools.
Methods:
Patients were called and asked questions from the Short Form 36 (SF-36), the Disability of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand questionnaire (DASH), a pain scale and an additional question on their satisfaction with the surgery.
Results:
A total of 33 patients were operated by a single surgeon (MI) between 1997 and 2010 at Neurosurgery Department of Istanbul School of Medicine. Three of these patients refused to participate and the other three patients were excluded, leaving 27 patients, with an average follow-up of 79,6 months, for review. Most common cause of TBPI was motor vehicle accidents. 14 patients had isolated supraclavicular and three patients had infraclavicular injuries. Remaining 10 patients’ injuries were both supra- and infraclavicular. Avulsion was encountered in three patients. The patients who were operated in the first six months after trauma represented significantly better scores in DASH, SF-36 and pain scale.
Conclusions:
Statistically validated tests like DASH, SF-36 questionnaires are valuable tools for evaluating the TBPI patients. Specialised centers dealing with TBPI surgery may use these tests pre- and postoperatively which lead to objective personalised evaluation of patients’ subjective symptoms.