Muhammad Salman, Muhammad Bilal, Tamjeed Gul, Muhammad Ayaz Khan.
Outcome of tendon transfer surgery for radial nerve palsy.
Pak J Surg Jan ;32(4):260-3.

Objective: To evaluate the functional outcome of tendon transfer for wrist drop secondary to radial nerve injuries. Place and duration of study: Orthopaedic and plastic surgery units of Khyber teaching hospital, Peshawar from September 2013 to August 2015 Patients and methods: In this study fifteen consecutive patients of any age group and of both gender with irreversible low radial nerve paralysis were included. Three tendons were used to restore lost functions of wrist, fingers and thumb. The pronatorteres was transferred to both extensor carpi-radialis brevis and longus, Palmaris longus to extensor pollicis longus and flexor carpiulnaris to extensor digitorum and extensor indicis. The ranges of movement of the wrist, metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joints of the fingers and thumb were evaluated preoperatively and at each follow-up using goniometer. Patients were asked about their return or not to normal activities of daily living and return to work, where appropriate. The mean postoperative follow-up was 12 months. Results: 15 patients were included in the study. The mean age was 37.13 years ± 8.17. One was female and 14 were male patients. Preoperatively, compared with the normal hands, the mean finger extension lag was 77.0º with the wrist extended and the mean thumb extension lag was 60.0º. At 12 months, the mean lag improved to about 7.0º for finger and thumb extension and 31.0º for wrist extension. (p=0.005). Tweleve patients (80%) were able to return to their normal daily work while 3 patients felt some hesitancy which improved after physiotherapy. Conclusion: The tendon transfer is a very successful treatment for irreversible radial nerve paralysis.

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