How long do nerves take to repair

Possible donor nerves include sensory nerves of skin of the forearm and leg. Having a numb patch on the side of your arm or foot is usually less bother than having a numb area on your hand. As with all procedures I perform, we will have an in-depth consultation about all aspects of the surgery and recovery, including possible donor nerves, risks etc. The nerve may have been repaired, and some recovery of function may have occurred, however scar tissue around the nerve causes tethering and discomfort when you move your hand.

The scar tissue can also limit nerve cell regeneration. I can surgically release the scar tissue from around the nerve. Your nerve may fail to recover due to a neuroma link to the top of the page , or there is a persistent gap in the nerve.

During the procedure, I cut back your nerve ends until I can see healthy ends, and I place a piece of nerve graft to facilitate normal re-growth of your nerve. The function sensation and power of your nerve is initially worse and then should gradually improve — it will be like beginning recovery all over again. The pain and discomfort you feel at the site of injury improves as recovery progresses. Sometimes a nerve is persistently tender.

This is usually due to a neuroma. Wrapping a vein, fat or another substance around your nerve provides padding around the nerve and will make the area less sensitive. After a nerve is injured, sometimes painful neuromas develop in smaller nerves of your hand. They are usually in locations that are not suitable for nerve repair such as amputated fingers. I can cut away the neuroma and bury the nerve end deep in a muscle or bone. This prevents the nerve end from being knocked and should reduce the electric shock like pain.

The area that the nerve supplied will be completely numb, and this is permanent. You will be given antibiotics at the beginning of your procedure and occasionally after your operation. Antibiotic use is carefully monitored to reduce antibiotic resistance. The signs of infection to look out for include increasing redness, swelling, pain and purulent discharge. After that, a nerve can be directly reconnected if there is enough length on the ends to allow for a good quality repair without tension.

Repairs are performed with the assistance of an operating microscope to allow for the best alignment of the fiber bundles, called fascicles, inside of the injured nerve. In some cases when a larger amount of tissue has to be removed from the nerve endings, there is too large a gap to allow for direct repair.

In those cases, a non-essential nerve will be sacrificed from a separate location on the body usually from the leg or upper arm and used to bridge the nerve gap. This procedure is known as nerve grafting. Other approaches for repair such as a conduit, an artificial tube connecting the nerve endings, may be used in particular circumstances when grafts are not possible. Nerve graft substitutes, derived from donated nerve tissues, are also appropriate instead of nerve grafting for some patients.

After a nerve is repaired, the fibers within the nerve begin to grow from the repair site toward the lost target tissues of skin and muscle to restore sensation and movement. The progress of recovery can be followed by the location of a sensitive area within the reconstructed nerve which will tingle when tapped.

These are the advancing nerve fibers within the recovering nerve. Patients will undergo periodic exams after nerve repair to follow the progress of these regenerating nerve fibers. Physical therapy will be done to maintain flexibility and motion in the joints and muscles while the nerve is recovering. When the patient shows signs of recovery with returning muscle tone and contraction, the therapist will begin exercises to strengthen those muscles and restore voluntary movement.

As sensation returns, the therapy will also concentrate on retraining the patient to use their sense of touch for better function. Sometimes your surgeon can borrow another working nerve to make an injured nerve work nerve transfer. Your surgeon can bypass a damaged section of nerve by reconnecting a healthy nerve to restore function. If your injury does not seem to be healing properly, your surgeon can use EMG testing in the operating room to assess whether scarred nerves are recovering.

Doing an EMG test directly on the nerve is more accurate and reliable than doing the test over the skin. Sometimes a nerve sits inside a tight space similar to a tunnel or is squeezed by scarring. In these cases, your surgeon may enlarge the tight space or free the nerve from the scar. Sometimes a section of a nerve is cut completely or damaged beyond repair.

Your surgeon can remove the damaged section and reconnect healthy nerve ends nerve repair or implant a piece of nerve from another part of your body nerve graft. These procedures can help your nerves to regrow.

If you have a particularly severe nerve injury, your doctor may suggest surgery to restore function to critical muscles by transferring tendons from one muscle to another. Explore Mayo Clinic studies testing new treatments, interventions and tests as a means to prevent, detect, treat or manage this condition.

A number of tests may be used to help diagnose the type and severity of peripheral nerve injuries. When you make your appointment, be sure to ask whether you need to prepare for these tests. For instance, you may need to stop taking certain medications for a few days or avoid using lotions the day of the test. If possible, take along a family member or friend.

Sometimes it can be difficult to absorb all the information you're given during an appointment. Someone who accompanies you may remember something that you forgot or missed.

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