Transfer of the supinator nerve to the posterior interosseous nerve for hand opening in tetraplegia through an anterior approach

Abstract

We report a retrospective series of 44 transfers in 26 patients in whom a functioning supinator nerve was transferred to a paralyzed posterior interosseous nerve through a single, anterior approach to re-animate hand opening in mid-cervical tetraplegia. Eighteen patients underwent concurrent nerve or tendon transfers to re-animate grasp and/or pinch through the same anterior incision. We evaluated the strength of the innervated muscle at mean follow-up of 24 months (range 12–27). The strength attained in our patients was equivalent to the strength after the transfer through a posterior approach reported in the literature. Nineteen of our patients were satisfied with the hand opening procedur..