[Functional surgery of upper limb in tetraplegics since 50 years]

Abstract

Objective: Development of upper limb functional surgery in tetraplegics in the last 50 years.

Methods: The literature review relating to the years 1950-2002 was carried out with 3 data bases: Medline, Pascal, Embase. This review also involved a thorough study of non-indexed references.

Results: A large number of surgical procedures are described. Two priorities are stressed by the authors: safety of these procedures and duration of postoperative immobilization.

Conclusion: This review of literature shows that the prospects for restoring upper limb function in tetraplegics are greater than ever, offering a larger number of patients the possibility to increase their independence in daily life. Functional surgery remains, nevertheless, demanding in terms of length of immobilization and presupposes requiring a multidisciplinary approach requiring rehabilitation teams to be up to date with surgical procedures.