Satisfaction with upper-extremity surgery in individuals with tetraplegia.

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.