Clinical results of intercostal nerve transfer to the musculocutaneous nerve in brachial plexus root avulsion injuries

Objective To observe the treatment outcomes of restoring elbow flexion by transferring intercostal nerves to the musculocutaneous nerve.Methods From August 2006 to May 2012,6 cases of brachial plexus root avulsion injuries were treated with intercostal nerve transfer to the musculocutaneous nerve at our hospital.Among these patients 5 were male and 1 was female.Their ages ranged from 19 to 55 years,the average being 35 years.The average time between injury and the operation was 5 months,ranging from 1 to 8 months.All the patients were treated with intercostal nerve transfer to the musculocutaneous nerve by direct coaptation.Postoperative follow-up ranged from 18 to 62 months,with an average of 38 months.Muscle power of the biceps and elbow flexion function were evaluated.Result The biceps muscle power recovered to some extent in all six patients.Three of them regained biceps muscle power of M4,while one exhibited M3,one M2 and one M1.Good or excellent motor recovery of the biceps was achieved in 66.7％ of the patients.Conclusion Intercostal nerve transfer to the musculocutaneous nerve for elbow flexion restoration is an effective procedure for brachial plexus root avulsion injuries. Key words: Intercostal nerve;  Musculocutaneous nerve;  Nerve transfer;  Brachial plexus;  Injury