Quotation from: Manual of Surgery

Written by: Alexander Miles and Alexis Thomson


_Treatment_ is carried out on the lines already laid down for nerve
injuries in general. It is impossible to diagnose between complete and
incomplete rupture of the nerve cords, until sufficient time has elapsed
to allow of the establishment of the reaction of degeneration. If this
is present at the end of fourteen days, operation should not be delayed.
Access to the cords of the plexus is obtained by a dissection similar to
that employed for the subclavian artery, and the nerves are sought for
as they emerge from under cover of the scalenus anterior, and are then
traced until the seat of injury is found. In the case of the first
dorsal nerve, it may be necessary temporarily to resect the clavicle.
The usual after-treatment must be persisted in until recovery ensues,
and care must be taken that the paralysed muscles do not become
over-stretched. The prognosis is less favourable in the supra-clavicular
lesions than in those below the clavicle, which nearly always recover
without surgical intervention.

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