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Microsurgical treatment of lumbosacral plexus injuries

  • Conference paper
Advanced Peripheral Nerve Surgery and Minimal Invasive Spinal Surgery

Part of the book series: Acta Neurochirurgica ((NEUROCHIRURGICA,volume 97))

Summary

Surgical treatment of lumbar and sacral plexus lesions is very rarely reported in the literature.

The incidence of the involvement of these nervous structures in traumatic lesions of different etiology is probably much higher than believed, and surgical treatment should be taken into consideration more often.

In this paper the experience derived from the surgical treatment of 15 cases is reported. Different surgical approaches have been employed according to ethiology, to level of nerve lesion and concomitant lesions of other organs.

Patients who suffered a lesion in the lumbar or sacral plexus may have a very severe problem with deambulation since the leg may not be stable or may be unable to withstand the weight of the body. Pain syndrome in these patients may be a very severe obstacle to rehabilitation programs and to deambulation and everyday activity.

Microsurgical nerve treatment in the retroperitoneal space is demanding both for the surgeon and for the patient but neurolysis and grafting procedures are possible also in this area. The resulting improvement of motor performance and the relief of pain are strong arguments in favor of this choice. Muscles benefitting most from surgery are the gluteal and femural muscles; more distant muscles, and particularly the anterior tibial nerve dependent muscles will gain minimal benefit from surgery. The relief from pain is relevant in all cases.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. EU.N.I. European Neurosurgical Institute, Treviso, Italy

    Alberto Alexandre M.D., L. Corò & A. Azuelos

Authors
  1. Alberto Alexandre M.D.
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  2. L. Corò
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  3. A. Azuelos
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alberto Alexandre M.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. EU.N.I. European Neurosurgical Institute, Treviso, Italy

    Alberto Alexandre

  2. Neurosurgical Department, Verona University, Verona, Italy

    Albino Bricolo

  3. Boltzmann Institut für Experimentelle Plastische Chirurgie, University of Vienna, Austria

    Hanno Millesi

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© 2005 Springer-Verlag

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Alexandre, A., Corò, L., Azuelos, A. (2005). Microsurgical treatment of lumbosacral plexus injuries. In: Alexandre, A., Bricolo, A., Millesi, H. (eds) Advanced Peripheral Nerve Surgery and Minimal Invasive Spinal Surgery. Acta Neurochirurgica, vol 97. Springer, Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-211-27458-8_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-211-27458-8_12

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Vienna

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-211-23368-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-211-27458-3

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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