Quote:
Originally Posted by Baz
Thanks....I didn't realize nerves were that large in diameter!
I guess the fact it wasn't severed completely helped with the repairs?
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In this case, yes. The intact bit held the nerve together, out to length. Nerves tend to be a little bit elastic, like rubber bands. So if a nerve is transected, then it tends to spring back a little. This was a relatively recent injury, but on older ones, the ends get stuck in scar, and they tend to get used to be shortened so then you have to stretch them out to length and the repair is under tension, which is not ideal.
At other times, if the cut ends have retracted, then the still-intact ones make the repair awkward as then they (intact portion) wants to bunch up under the tension of the advanced, repaired ends. That's an example where a partial nerve laceration is tougher to fix than a complete one. Fortunately not the case here.
I just feel bad because nerves never really heal right/well. Even though the repair looks good, it doesn't mean the nerve fibers actually propagate back to restore normal function. And even if they do, it's on the order of a year for any healing to plateau.
This nerve is like a cable at this level. Lots of littler nerves bundled together. In the palm, it branches out to the individual digits so that those nerves are small.