It is very important that you follow your surgeon's instructions in order to promote healing. Also, it is important that you attend all follow-up appointments so your surgeon can assess your long-term results and answer any questions or concerns you may have.

The optimal patient for potential surgical treatment for peripheral nerve injury has:

·        Pain in a specific area for more than three months that has not been relieved by other methods like physical therapy or medications.
·        A prior workup by other specialists such as orthopaedic surgeons, physical medicine doctors, pain specialists, or neurologists — without discovering an obvious cause for the pain.
·        Prior tests can be particularly helpful, such as EMG/NCV, diagnostic nerve blocks, and 3T MRIs.

Pain lasting more than 3 months following:

Prior surgery

·        Knee replacement
·        Leg, ankle or foot operations
·        Hip replacement
·        Abdominal surgery, laparoscopic surgery, abdominoplasty, etc.
·        Hernia repair
·        Mastectomy
·        Breast reconstruction or augmentation
·        Chest surgery

Trauma

·        Falls
·        Sports injuries (ankle sprains, ligament tears)
·        Shoulder, neck and facial surgery

Others

·        Significant weight loss with pain in one area
·        Diabetes — new onset of foot pain

NOTE: If you smoke, recently quit smoking or have been unable to stop completely, or you are exposed to second-hand smoke, you may not be a candidate for surgery. Primary and secondary smoking decreases blood supply to the body's tissues, resulting in prolonged wound healing, skin loss, infection, increased scarring, and a number of other complications related to the kind of procedure performed.

If your nerve is injured but not cut in half, your treatment team will assess whether the nerve is healing.

·        If your nerve is healing properly, you may not need surgical repair. You may need to rest the affected area until it's healed. Nerves recover slowly and maximal recovery may take many months or several years.
·        You'll need regular checkups to make sure your recovery continues to its maximum potential.
·        If your condition is due to another medical condition, your doctor will treat the underlying condition.
·        Depending on the type and severity of your nerve injury, you may need medications such as aspirin or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) to relieve your pain. In some cases, you may need corticosteroid injections to relieve your pain.
·        Your doctor may recommend physical therapy to prevent stiffness and restore function.

Your doctor will review your medical history, ask about any accidents or previous surgeries, and discuss your symptoms with you. Your doctor will also conduct a physical and neurological examination. If your neurological examination shows signs of a nerve injury, your doctor may recommend diagnostic tests, which may include:

·        Electromyography (EMG). In an EMG, a thin-needle electrode inserted into your muscle records your muscle's electrical activity at rest and in motion. Reduced muscle activity can indicate nerve injury.
·        Nerve conduction study. Electrodes placed at two different points in your body measure how well electrical signals pass through the nerves.
·        Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). An MRI uses powerful magnets and radio waves to produce detailed images of the nerves that may be damaged and the affected area.

You will be given a preoperative information packet that explains everything you should do and know before your surgery date. Your surgeon will give you specific instructions on how to prepare for surgery, including guidelines on eating and drinking, smoking, and taking or avoiding certain vitamins and medications. Whether your surgery is done on an outpatient or inpatient basis, you should arrange for someone to drive you home after your surgery, and to help you out for a day or two after you leave the hospital, if needed.

Your peripheral nerves are the links between your brain and spinal cord and the rest of your body. Peripheral nerves are fragile and easily damaged.

A nerve injury can affect your brain's ability to communicate with your muscles and organs. Damage to the peripheral nerves is called peripheral neuropathy.

Stretching or pressing on a nerve can cause injury. The nerves also may be damaged as a result of other health conditions that affect the nerves, such as diabetes or Guillain-Barre syndrome.

In carpal tunnel syndrome, pressure on the median nerve in the wrist causes damage. Or the nerves may be crushed, cut or damaged in an accident such as a sports injury or a car crash.

Peripheral nerve injuries may be mild or severe. Nerves are made of fibers called axons, which are surrounded by tissues that act like insulation.

Sometimes in a peripheral nerve injury, either the fibers or the insulation are damaged. These injuries are more likely to heal.

In more-severe peripheral nerve injuries both the fibers and the insulation are damaged, and the nerve may be completely cut. These types of injuries are very difficult to treat and recovery may not be possible.

For example, if you feel tingling or numbness or develop weakness in your leg, arm, shoulder or hand, you may have injured one or more nerves in an accident. You may also experience similar symptoms if a nerve is being compressed due to factors such as a narrow passageway, tumor or other diseases.

Severe peripheral nerve injuries may cause total loss of feeling to the area where the nerve is damaged.

It's important to get medical care for a peripheral nerve injury as soon as possible because nerve tissue sometimes can be repaired. Early diagnosis and treatment in some cases can prevent complications injury.

Peripheral nerve issues, including:

• Traumatic peripheral nerve injuries including brachial plexus injury, major peripheral nerve injury and iatrogenic injury
• Tumors of the peripheral nerve including schwannomas, neurofibroma and sarcoma
• Carpal tunnel syndrome and other compressive neuropathies and permanent