TY - JOUR
T1 - Subjective recovery of nerve graft donor site
AU - Ehretsman, Rebecca L.
AU - Novak, Christine B.
AU - Mackinnon, Susan E.
PY - 1999/12
Y1 - 1999/12
N2 - Nerve graft procedures require the use of a donor nerve to supply the graft material. This results in an area of numbness in a less critical region. The purpose of this study was to assess donor site recovery using patient subjective evaluation. Thirty-one patients (mean age, 38 years) who were at least 2 years past a nerve graft procedure participated in the telephone survey. The mean time since surgery was 65 months. Donor nerves from the lower extremity were utilized in 16 patients and from the upper extremity in 15 patients. The subjective patient evaluations indicated low levels of pain, numbness, and cold sensitivity in the donor nerve sensory distribution. Patient factors, including workers' compensation and legal involvement, did not have a significant effect on recovery at the donor site. Function and daily activity were not affected significantly by donor site factors. Satisfaction with nerve graft recovery was related significantly to reported patient satisfaction of the donor site (p = 0.002).
AB - Nerve graft procedures require the use of a donor nerve to supply the graft material. This results in an area of numbness in a less critical region. The purpose of this study was to assess donor site recovery using patient subjective evaluation. Thirty-one patients (mean age, 38 years) who were at least 2 years past a nerve graft procedure participated in the telephone survey. The mean time since surgery was 65 months. Donor nerves from the lower extremity were utilized in 16 patients and from the upper extremity in 15 patients. The subjective patient evaluations indicated low levels of pain, numbness, and cold sensitivity in the donor nerve sensory distribution. Patient factors, including workers' compensation and legal involvement, did not have a significant effect on recovery at the donor site. Function and daily activity were not affected significantly by donor site factors. Satisfaction with nerve graft recovery was related significantly to reported patient satisfaction of the donor site (p = 0.002).
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0032736347&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1097/00000637-199912000-00005
DO - 10.1097/00000637-199912000-00005
M3 - Article
C2 - 10597820
AN - SCOPUS:0032736347
SN - 0148-7043
VL - 43
SP - 606
EP - 612
JO - Annals of Plastic Surgery
JF - Annals of Plastic Surgery
IS - 6
ER -