Brachial Plexus Injury – Discharge Timeline

Transcript

Depending on the types of procedures performed, a patient actually can be operated on on an outpatient basis or can even be in the hospital as an inpatient for up to a week. In upper brachial plexus type of injury, the nerve transfers that are undertaken are usually not as involved as what is undertaken for a complete brachial plexus injury. These transfers can take place in less than three hours and a patient can often be discharged home on the same day. When a patient has a much more extensive injury and requires transfer of other nerves such as the intercostals, this causes significant pain and the patient’s hospitalization may last several days. In the case that a free muscle transplant is incorporated in the reconstruction, a patient may spend several days in the intensive care unit making sure the muscle transplant is getting good blood flow and surviving well, before they are then transferred to a lower level of care and then discharged. Hospitalizations can last up to a week in this case.