Publication At A Glance

Shoulder Function and Anatomy in Complete Obstetric Brachial Plexus Palsy; Long Term Improvement After Triangle Tilt Surgery

Our goal for this study was to examine individuals with a "Complete Obstetric Brachial Plexus Injury" (COBPI) to determine if the Triangle Tilt surgery was successful. A "complete" injury is relatively uncommon and is a permanent injury to all five nerve roots (C5-T1) which also results in significant deficits of the hand. In contrast, the more common types of permanent injury involve primarily the shoulder and upper arm with the hand being spared. In complete injuries, the shoulder, arm and hand are all involved.

The 25 patients we studied were at the average age of 5 (9 months to 12 years) and each had the Triangle Tilt procedure between 2005 and 2009.

We found that even though the majority of the patients in the group were older, there was significant improvement in their ability to perform shoulder and arm movements following surgery. There was also significant improvement in the entire shoulder joint (placement, position, rotation, etc.).