Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Mar 13;1(8):286-294.
doi: 10.1302/2058-5241.1.000028. eCollection 2016 Aug.

Radial nerve palsy

Marko Bumbasirevic  1   2 , Tomislav Palibrk  1 , Aleksandar Lesic  1   2 , Henry DE Atkinson  3
Affiliations

Radial nerve palsy

Marko Bumbasirevic et al. EFORT Open Rev. .

Abstract

As a result of its proximity to the humeral shaft, as well as its long and tortuous course, the radial nerve is the most frequently injured major nerve in the upper limb, with its close proximity to the bone making it vulnerable when fractures occur.Injury is most frequently sustained during humeral fracture and gunshot injuries, but iatrogenic injuries are not unusual following surgical treatment of various other pathologies.Treatment is usually non-operative, but surgery is sometimes necessary, using a variety of often imaginative procedures. Because radial nerve injuries are the least debilitating of the upper limb nerve injuries, results are usually satisfactory.Conservative treatment certainly has a role, and one of the most important aspects of this treatment is to maintain a full passive range of motion in all the affected joints.Surgical treatment is indicated in cases when nerve transection is obvious, as in open injuries or when there is no clinical improvement after a period of conservative treatment. Different techniques are used including direct suture or nerve grafting, vascularised nerve grafts, direct nerve transfer, tendon transfer, functional muscle transfer or the promising, newer treatment of biological therapy. Cite this article: Bumbasirevic M, Palibrk T, Lesic A, Atkinson HDE. Radial nerve palsy. EFORT Open Rev 2016;1:286-294. DOI: 10.1302/2058-5241.1.000028.

Keywords: nerve reconstruction; posterior interosseous nerve injury; radial nerve injury; radial nerve palsy; tendon transfer.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Pre-operative finding of an old radial nerve injury.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Intraoperative finding of injured radial nerve.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
An 8 cm gap between two ends prepared for reconstruction.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Four cables of sural nerve glued with fibrin glue.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Complete radial nerve grafting with fibrin glue.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Radial nerve injury flowchart.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Jobe MT, Martiney SF. Peripheral nerve injuries. In: Campbell’s operative orthopaedics. Twelfth ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier Mosby, 2013:3063-3123.
    1. Li Y, Ning G, Wu Q, et al. Review of literature of radial nerve injuries associated with humeral fractures-an integrated management strategy. PLoS One 2013;8:e78576. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Seddon H. Three types of nerve injury. Brain 1943;66:237-288.
    1. He B, Zhu Z, Zhu Q, et al. Factors predicting sensory and motor recovery after the repair of upper limb peripheral nerve injuries. Neural Regen Res 2014;9:661-672. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Abrams RA, Ziets RJ, Lieber RL, Botte MJ. Anatomy of the radial nerve motor branches in the forearm. J Hand Surg Am 1997;22:232-237. - PubMed