Nerve Damage Specialist

What are peripheral nerves?

Peripheral nerves connect your spinal cord and brain with the rest of your body. The peripheral nerves in your hands communicate vast amounts of information to your brain through your sense of touch.

As your brain and hands communicate through your nerves, valuable information passes back and forth, including how much pressure a task requires and the temperature of an object. Your nerves also communicate when to remove your hand from danger, like the surface of a hot stove.

When you injure your hand, you can damage the nerves of the brachial plexus. All of the nerves that run from the brain through the neck and out to each hand and fingertip make up this structure. Common causes of brachial plexus nerve damage include:

• Contact sports
• Traumas like car accidents
• Tumors and cancer treatments

Sustaining nerve damage can cause a variety of symptoms and interfere with the function of your hand.

What are the symptoms of nerve damage?

Symptoms of brachial plexus nerve damage typically include:

• Weakness or loss of sensation in your arm, wrist, or hand
• Decrease or loss of function of the muscles in that area
• Severe pain or shooting electrical shocks or burning sensation down your arm
• Inability to move or feel your arm, shoulder, or hand

Your symptoms can vary significantly based on the location of your injury and its severity. If you’ve sustained nerve damage to your hand, contact Dr. Kwon immediately. The sooner you seek treatment, the greater your chances of successfully regaining sensation and function in your hand.

How is nerve damage diagnosed and treated?

Dr. Kwon is a double board-certified hand surgeon who performs peripheral nerve surgery to repair damage to the nerves in the brachial plexus.

To diagnose your nerve damage, Dr. Kwon conducts a physical examination that might include digital imaging like CT scans and MRIs as well as nerve screenings like electromyography (EMG) and nerve conduction studies (NCS).

Based on your tests, Dr. Kwon might recommend several surgical treatments to restore lost sensation and function, such as:

• Nerve decompression
• Nerve repair
• Nerve graft

If your nerve damage is beyond repair, Dr. Kwon also performs tendon transfer surgery.

Call Southwest Hand and Microsurgery or schedule an appointment online to learn more about nerve damage treatment.