Satisfaction with upper-extremity surgery in individuals with tetraplegia¹, ² ☆

Abstract 

Wuolle KS, Bryden AM, Peckham PH, Murray PK, Keith M. Satisfaction with upper-extremity surgery in individuals with tetraplegia. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2003;84:1145–9.

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.

Keywords:  Patient satisfaction, Tetraplegia, Quadriplegia, Quality of life, Rehabilitation, Tendon transfer

• 1 No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on the authors or any organization with which the authors are associated.
• 2 Reprint requests to Laura Polacek, MetroHealth Medical Center, Rehabilitation Engineering Center (H601), 2500 MetroHealth Dr, Cleveland, OH 44109-1998, e-mail: LKP3@po.cwru.edu