Comparison of Functional Recovery Following Median And/Or Ulnar Nerve Repair in Children and Adults

Abstract

D Joubert, L Caouette-Laberge, S Wood-Dauphinee, LA Jones. Comparison of functional recovery following median and/or ulnar nerve repair in children and adults. Can J Plast Surg 1993;1(3): 123-127. Functional recovery was investigated in a group of 17 children and 17 adults with a median or ulnar nerve microsurgical repair performed at least one year before the assessment. Motor and sensory function, tactile gnosis, manual dexterity, pain and perception of disability were assessed. Statistically significant differences were found between the two groups with respect to two-point discrimination, tactile gnosis, manual dexterity, pain and self-report of performance in daily activities, with the children demonstrating better functional recovery than the adults. There was little difference between the two groups when motor recovery was studied. The widely accepted belief that children recuperate better than adults after a nerve injury may not apply to all aspects of recovery.