Same modality nerve reconstruction for accessory nerve injuries.

Abstract

The standard repair of a nerve gap under tension is to use a sensory autograft, such as the medial antebrachial cutaneous or the sural nerve. The practice of using sensory grafts to repair motor nerve defects is challenged by the discovery of preferential motor reinnervation and modality specific nerve regeneration. In this article, two clinical cases are presented where accessory nerve injuries are repaired with either a motor nerve transfer (a branch of C7) or a motor autograft (obturator nerve), and excellent functional results are reported. These cases provide a stimulus to consider the use of motor nerve grafts or transfers in the repair of motor nerve deficits.