Nerve transfers in distal forearm and in the hand

Abstract

Nerve transfers were used, originally, to restore shoulder and elbow function in brachial plexus lesions. This concept has been developed over the years and applied to distal nerve injuries in which lower functionality was expected because of the gap between the injury site and the target muscle. The aim of this review is to describe nerve transfers in the distal forearm and hand for isolated lesions of the median, ulnar and radial nerves. The different advantages achieved by transposition of a functional nerve stump near the effector muscle have opened up new options for the management of nerve lesions. Some of these alternatives have only been recently reported and a few are exclusively case reports.