Abstract
We present two cases of iatrogenic musculocutaneous nerve injury involving damage to the lateral cord of the brachial plexus. In the first case, the injury resulted from osteosynthesis of the proximal humerus following a traumatic fracture with concomitant radial nervy injury.
Five months later, the clearly-severed musculocutaneous nerve was identified at its branching away from the lateral cord of the brachial plexus. Micro-anastomosis using sural nerve grafting of both the radial and the musculocutaneous nerve was performed.
In the second case, the lateral cord of the brachial plexus, including the musculocutaneous nerve, was damaged in the course of orthopaedic surgery to the shoulder. The patient was re-operated five months later and end-to-end micro-anastomosis was performed.
Musculocutaneous nerve re-innervation was successful, but 12 months later the patient was again re-operated in response to pain in the upper arm caused by nerve compression arising out of scar tissue formation.