Work by a former fellow
Dr Kristine Italia, an orthopaedic surgeon from the Philippines and a former fellow of the clinic, has studied arthroscopic brachial plexus neurolysis for neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome.
The condition
The brachial plexus is the bundle of nerves running from the neck into the arm. Where those nerves are compressed as they pass through the narrow space between the collarbone, the first rib and the surrounding muscles, the result is neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome, which can cause pain, numbness, tingling and weakness in the arm.
The study concerned patients who had not improved with conservative treatment following trauma-related brachial plexopathy. A neurolysis is an operation to free the nerves from the scar tissue and tight structures compressing them.
What was reported
Published results at 12 months report a 50% reduction in pain, improvement in patient-reported outcome measures and in range of motion, and patient satisfaction of 81%. Individual results vary, and the full detail including the numbers of patients involved is in the published work.
The study also noted that patients with persistent symptoms often had an additional condition present, such as a cervical rib, arthritis or a frozen shoulder, which is a useful reminder that more than one problem can coexist in a painful arm.
Related information
Dr Italia is also a co-author on the work covered in our posts on outcomes and survivorship of anatomic total shoulder arthroplasty and mixed reality for glenoid guidewire placement.