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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Nerve Damage While Drawing Blood. How Will It Get Healed? Pregnant

I had a routine blood test 6 days ago. When taking blood from my inner elbow she hit a nerve. I am experiencing a severe electric shock type feeling in my arm whenever I straighten it or try to pick something up. My GP has advised that it is a nerve damage and only time will heal it but won t say how long. I am worried as I am pregnant and concerned that it won t be healed in time. Help please
Sat, 23 Feb 2013
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General & Family Physician 's  Response
Hi,
thank you for query.
this is nerve injury and treatment of nerve injury is-
Considering injection nerve injuries are relatively rare, evidence based guidelines are not available to direct treatment. In the literature there is some disagreement regarding the timing and indication for nerve exploration in these patients. Some experts advocate an immediate exploration to wash away any irritating substance from in or around the nerve, and to perform both and internal and external neurolysis, determined by the location of the injection. Other authors suggest close follow-up with serial examinations and electrodiagnostic testing, with a consideration of surgical exploration at approximately three months if no recovery has occurred. For delayed explorations, intraoperative nerve action potentials are performed and the damaged nerve is resected and grafted if there is no action potential ellicited. Alternatively, a nerve transfer can be performed instead of nerve grafting (e.g., a triceps branch to the axillary nerve distal to the injury). For chronic (>1 year) palsies, tendon transfers may be helpful, including a posterior tibialis tendon transfer for foot drop. As with most nerve injuries, continued physical and occupational therapy with bracing, as required, remains the mainstay of treatment.
Outcome
Anecdotally, injection injuries that do not spontaneously resolve in 1-2 months (i.e., neuropraxias) have a poor prognosis if untreated. If the peroneal nerve is involved, the prognosis often remains poor regardless of surgical repair, considering how proximal the injury is. Axillary nerve injuries have a better prognosis, not only because other uninvolved muscles may help partially replace the function of the deltoid, but more so because an axillary nerve injury and/or nerve repair occurs close to the denervated muscle, which often leads to robust and early reinnervation.



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General & Family Physician Dr. Gustav Gous's  Response
Yes this does sound like a nerve damage. Unfortunately nerve tissue does heal slowly, and this can take 6-8 weeks to settle down. I suggest you have your doctor confirm wether you are pregnant, if you are not taking a nerve stabilizing drug like Lyrica will help.
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Nerve Damage While Drawing Blood. How Will It Get Healed? Pregnant

Hi, thank you for query. this is nerve injury and treatment of nerve injury is- Considering injection nerve injuries are relatively rare, evidence based guidelines are not available to direct treatment. In the literature there is some disagreement regarding the timing and indication for nerve exploration in these patients. Some experts advocate an immediate exploration to wash away any irritating substance from in or around the nerve, and to perform both and internal and external neurolysis, determined by the location of the injection. Other authors suggest close follow-up with serial examinations and electrodiagnostic testing, with a consideration of surgical exploration at approximately three months if no recovery has occurred. For delayed explorations, intraoperative nerve action potentials are performed and the damaged nerve is resected and grafted if there is no action potential ellicited. Alternatively, a nerve transfer can be performed instead of nerve grafting (e.g., a triceps branch to the axillary nerve distal to the injury). For chronic ( 1 year) palsies, tendon transfers may be helpful, including a posterior tibialis tendon transfer for foot drop. As with most nerve injuries, continued physical and occupational therapy with bracing, as required, remains the mainstay of treatment. Outcome Anecdotally, injection injuries that do not spontaneously resolve in 1-2 months (i.e., neuropraxias) have a poor prognosis if untreated. If the peroneal nerve is involved, the prognosis often remains poor regardless of surgical repair, considering how proximal the injury is. Axillary nerve injuries have a better prognosis, not only because other uninvolved muscles may help partially replace the function of the deltoid, but more so because an axillary nerve injury and/or nerve repair occurs close to the denervated muscle, which often leads to robust and early reinnervation.