Percentage of nerve injuries in which primary repair can be achieved by end-to-end approximation: review of 2,181 nerve lesions.

Primary nerve repair yields better results than secondary reconstruction but is not always possible. We reviewed a series of 2,181 fresh nerve injuries of the upper limb. One nerve only was injured in 41% of the patients; two or more in 59%. One thousand four hundred eighty-two injuries (68%) were located in the digits. The injured limb segment was lost or beyond repair in 387 cases (18% of all cases). In the 1,794 remaining injuries, primary treatment was accomplished by end-to-end suture 1,568 times (87%) and by graft 33 times (> 2%) and was impossible in 193 cases (11%).