"Think nerve" in upper extremity reconstruction
Dellon, A.L.
Clinics in Plastic Surgery 16(3): 617-627
1989
ISSN/ISBN: 0094-1298 PMID: 2673640 Document Number: 337469
Upper extremity reconstruction may be greatly facilitated by "thinking nerve" in the initial evaluation. Frequently, the obvious soft tissue deformity or bone or joint pathology distracts the reconstructive surgeon from an underlying nerve problem. When pain is a portion of the presenting complaints, thinking nerve becomes more obvious. This article attempts to direct the reconstructive surgeon approaching the upper extremity to look for underlying nerve injury in the region of a damaged wrist capsule, neuromas of the cutaneous nerve, and sites of nerve entrapment.