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Upper Extremity Surgery in Spinal Cord Injury

NCT01899664 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 17

Last updated 2021-11-03

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The goal of the investigators work is to establish how nerve transfers can be best used to improve upper extremity function in patients with cervical level spinal cord injury (SCI). The investigators' hypothesis is that nerve transfers are safe and effective and will improve function and quality of life in patients with loss of upper function due to spinal cord injury. The investigators plan on looking at upper limb function, and health-related quality of life in patients before and after surgery to better understand how patients benefit from these treatments.

A nerve transfer procedure can be used to rewire the system to make some muscles work again following SCI. The nerve transfer procedure (which is done in the arm and not at the level of the spinal cord) can be used to bypass the damaged area and to deliver a signal from the brain to a muscle that became disconnected following that injury. A donor nerve is taken from another muscle whose use is not essential and then transferred to help in providing more a more critical function.

For example, one type of nerve transfer is done to restore the lost ability to pinch or grasp small objects between the fingers that occurs in many patients with cervical SCI. In this surgery, a donor nerve that normally helps flex the elbow. This nerve can be used because the biceps muscle is also working to flex the elbow. This donor nerve is cut and re-attached to the nerve going to muscles in the forearm that provide pinch by bending the tips of the thumb and index finger.

Because the nerve transfer procedure involves cutting and reattaching nerve and muscle tissues, time is required to regenerate working connections between the nerves and muscle as well as to allow the brain to relearn how to use and strengthen that muscle.

Conditions

  • Quadriplegia
  • Spinal Cord Diseases
  • Spinal Cord Injuries

Interventions

PROCEDURE

Nerve Transfer Surgery

Unilateral surgery will be performed under general non-paralytic anesthesia and no-tourniquet conditions to allow for responsive nerve simulation.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Washington University School of Medicine

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Ida K. Fox, MD · Washington University School of Medicine

Study Design

Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
60 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2012-06-30
Primary Completion
2021-10-31
Completion
2021-10-31

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT01899664 on ClinicalTrials.gov