Shoulder Subluxation Pain as a Secondary Indication for Trapezius to Deltoid Transfer

Brachial plexus injuries can be debilitating. We have observed that manual reduction of the patients' shoulder subluxation improves their pain and have used this as a second reason to perform the trapezius to deltoid muscle transfer beyond motion. The authors report a series of nine patients wh...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Andrew I. Elkwood, Michael I. Rose, Matthew R. Kaufman, Tushar R. Patel, Russell L. Ashinoff, Adam Saad, Lisa F. Schneider, Eric G. Wimmers, Hamid Abdollahi, Deborah Yu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Georg Thieme Verlag KG 2018-01-01
Series:Journal of Brachial Plexus and Peripheral Nerve Injury
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.thieme-connect.de/DOI/DOI?10.1055/s-0038-1676786
Description
Summary:Brachial plexus injuries can be debilitating. We have observed that manual reduction of the patients' shoulder subluxation improves their pain and have used this as a second reason to perform the trapezius to deltoid muscle transfer beyond motion. The authors report a series of nine patients who all had significant improvement of pain in the shoulder girdle and a decrease in pain medication use after a trapezius to deltoid muscle transfer. All patients were satisfied with the outcomes and stated that they would undergo the procedure again if offered the option. The rate of major complications was low. The aim is not to describe a new technique, but to elevate a secondary indication to a primary for the trapezius to deltoid transfer beyond improving shoulder function: pain relief from chronic shoulder subluxation.
ISSN:1749-7221
1749-7221