Pioneering Nerve Transfer Operation May Restore Hand Use to Accident Victim

In a first-of-its-kind procedure, surgeons transferred a component of the sciatic nerve from the patient's amputated leg to his brachial plexus.

Marcello Gaviglio, a 55-year-old healthcare worker, may regain the use of his hand, left paralyzed by a severe road accident, thanks to a pioneering nerve transfer operation from his partly amputated leg.
Surgeons at Turin City Hospital transferred part of Gaviglio's sciatic nerve, which controlled the movement of his amputated foot, to his brachial plexus, the network of nerves that connect the spinal cord to the shoulder, arm and hand.
This is the first time that a component of the sciatic nerve has been transferred to the brachial plexus.
Gaviglio will have to undergo around 5 months of post-operative care before it is clear if the operation was successful.
The procedure was the result of four years of research and was published in the medical journal Injury.