Article

Objective: To measure the satisfaction of individuals with tetraplegia with their upper-extremity reconstructive surgery. Design: Survey. Setting: Two Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems centers. Participants: Sixty-seven individuals with spinal cord injury at the C4 through C8 motor level (107 arms). Interventions: Participants had upper-extremity surgery to improve function. The surgical procedures included tendon transfers for elbow extension, wrist extension, hand grasp, and pinch or hand grasp neuroprosthesis. Main Outcome Measure: A survey was mailed to participants, who were asked to respond to statements such as ''If I had it to do over, I would have the hand/arm surgery again,'' using a 5-level Likert scale (ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree). Results: Seventy percent of the participants were generally satisfied with the results of their upper-extremity surgery, 77% reported a positive impact on their lives, 68% reported improvements in activities of daily living (ADLs), 66% reported improved independence, 69% reported improvement in occupation, 71% reported improved appearance or neutral 78% reported their hand worked as well (or neutral) as it did when surgery was first performed, and 86% reported postoperative therapy as being beneficial. Conclusions: Upper-extremity surgery had a positive impact on life, increased ability to perform ADLs and to be independent, and improved quality of life.

Langue : ANGLAIS

Identifiant basis : 2003227805