Vol. 5, Issue 4, Part A (2021)

Author(s): Surya Rao Rao Venkata Mahipathy, Alagar Raja Durairaj, Narayanamurthy Sundaramurthy, Anand Prasath Jayachandiran and Suresh Rajendran

Abstract: The radial nerve is one of the three important nerves of the upper limb which causes the wrist, fingers and thumb extension. Loss of radial nerve function in the hand creates a significant disability with difficulty in grasp and power grip. Injuries to the radial nerve can occur at any point along its anatomical route and the etiology could be either post-traumatic or post-surgical. After irreparable radial nerve injury, the only treatment available is tendon transfer other than arthrodesis. Tendon transfer is a treatment option to compensate for the loss of function of the wrist, fingers and thumb extensions of which the flexor carpi radialis (FCR) and flexor carpi ulnaris (FCU) are the most common used donor tendons. FCR tendon transfer provides better functional results than FCU tendon transfer. There is no standard procedure but the surgeon must tailor the tendon transfer procedure according to the patients needs.