Flashcards on Peripheral Nerve Injury and Repair Techniques
Peripheral Nerve Injury & Repair Techniques: A Student Guide
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Peripheral nerve injury
52 cards
Card 1
Question: What are Seddon’s three classifications of peripheral nerve injury and their basic characteristics?
Answer: Neurapraxia: local conduction block, no Wallerian degeneration, excellent recovery. Axonotmesis: axonal damage with Wallerian degeneration, potential
Card 2
Question: How did Sunderland expand Seddon’s classification of nerve injuries?
Answer: Sunderland described five degrees of nerve injury (degrees I–V) detailing increasing structural damage; Mackinnon later added a sixth degree (mixed in
Card 3
Question: Match Sunderland degrees I–V (and Mackinnon degree VI) to Seddon terms and recovery expectations.
Answer: Degree I = neurapraxia (Seddon I) — fast/excellent recovery. Degree II = axonotmesis (Seddon II) — slow/excellent recovery (~1–1.5 mm/day). Degree III
Card 4
Question: What is the classic axonal regeneration rate after axonotmesis?
Answer: Approximately 1 inch (2.5 cm) per month or 1–1.5 mm per day.
Card 5
Question: Which Sunderland degrees of injury recover spontaneously and which do not?
Answer: First-degree (neurapraxia) and second-degree (axonotmesis) recover spontaneously. Fourth- and fifth-degree injuries do not recover. Third- and sixth-d
Card 6
Question: What is the main surgical difficulty when treating a sixth-degree nerve injury?
Answer: Limiting repair to fascicles affected by fourth- and fifth-degree damage while avoiding damage to fascicles that have potential for spontaneous recove
Card 7
Question: What clinical grouping of nerve injuries is useful for assessment and management?
Answer: Group by mechanism and open vs closed: (1) penetrating injuries, (2) crush and compression injuries, and (3) stretch and avulsion injuries.
Card 8
Question: How do open versus closed nerve injuries generally differ in severity and associated damage?
Answer: Closed injuries (like avulsion and crush) can still be severe; open injuries imply more severe force, often associated with soft-tissue, vascular, and
Card 9
Question: When should penetrating nerve injuries (e.g., sharp lacerations) be explored surgically?
Answer: They should usually be explored semielectively within the first week if a nerve deficit is present; immediate exploration is warranted if there is an
Card 10
Question: Why is earlier exploration of penetrating nerve injuries preferable?
Answer: The longer from injury, the less likely proximal and distal nerve ends can be mobilized for primary coaptation, increasing the likelihood a nerve graf