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High-Resolution Sonography of the Peripheral Nervous System pp 123–151Cite as

Traumatic Nerve Lesions

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Part of the book series: Medical Radiology ((Med Radiol Diagn Imaging))

Abstract

Traumatic lesions of peripheral nerves are common. According to the literature a relevant lesion of a peripheral nerve exists in roughly 2%–3% of patients admitted to Level I trauma centers. If plexus and root injuries are included the incidence rises to about 5% (Noble et al. 1998; Robinson 2000). In general, these types of injuries are increasingly recognized in today’s clinical practice, because of improved trauma services. Besides the medical impact of these lesions they constitute a major social problem, as recovery is often incomplete (especially in cases of delayed treatment), which may result in long lasting disability. This is even more troublesome, as patients with these types of injuries belong to a younger and highly productive age group within the trauma population. Institution of adequate and early treatment is the only chance to prevent unfavorable outcomes and therefore an exact diagnostic work-up is mandatory. Traditionally these lesions were evaluated with a combination of clinical examination and neurological function tests (nerve conduction studies and electromyography).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Section for Diagnostic and Interventional Sonography, Innsbruck Medical University, Anichstrasse 35, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria

    Professor Siegfried Peer MD

  2. Department of Radiology, Innsbruck Medical University, Anichstrasse 35, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria

    Hannes Gruber MD (Associate Professor)

Authors
  1. Professor Siegfried Peer MD
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  2. Hannes Gruber MD
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Section for Diagnostic and Interventional Sonography, Innsbruck Medical University, Anichstrasse 35, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria

    Siegfried Peer MD (Professor) (Professor)

  2. Department of Radiology, St. Bernards Hospital, Europort 1-4, Gibraltar

    Gerd Bodner MD (Professor) (Professor)

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© 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Peer, S., Gruber, H. (2008). Traumatic Nerve Lesions. In: Peer, S., Bodner, G. (eds) High-Resolution Sonography of the Peripheral Nervous System. Medical Radiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-49084-5_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-49084-5_5

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-49083-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-49084-5

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