Nerve microsurgery can provide relief from sensations of tingling, burning, sharp pains, or numbness as a result of nerve injuries from trauma, diabetes, chemotherapy, arthritis, foot drop, and failed surgery. The procedure is performed under a microscope and can involve grafts or nerve transfers.
In Northeast Florida, Dr. Ryan Pereira at Anastasia Medical Group in St. Augustine has achieved an 80% success rate with patients across a variety of conditions requiring nerve microsurgery.
Symptoms of nerve injury
Millions of Americans suffer from nerve injuries in the arms or legs as a result of physical trauma or medical disorders. Although the structure of a limb may still be intact and mobile, nerve damage could render a patient unable to walk, run, or simply live without constant pain. Damaged nerves can cause a range of sensations from complete numbness to unbearable stinging or burning. Nerve injuries go unseen at the surface, but they can have devastating effects on quality of life.
Traumatic nerve injuries
People often suffer nerve injuries as a result of trauma such as car accidents, serious falls, or impact-related injuries. Although bones and tissue may heal, the nervous system may remain damaged. This means that recovery from the injury, and any related surgeries, can plateau or even regress.
This can be discouraging for patients, but it may simply mean that a surgical procedure is needed to repair the damaged nerves just as surgery and/or a cast may be needed to help a bone correctly heal.
Diabetic nerve damage
Another cause of nerve damage can be medical conditions such as diabetes. Many diabetic patients experience nerve-related issues as a result of poor circulation, especially in the lower legs. For some this may be numbness or tingling in the feet, but for others it can mean unpredictable and excruciating pain.
Although wound care, proper diet, and adherence to medical advice can go a long way toward enabling those with diabetes to live their lives to the fullest, a nerve injury can bring everything to a screeching (and painful) halt. For this reason, it’s important for diabetes patients suffering these symptoms to meet with an experienced surgeon to discuss the option of microsurgery.
Microsurgical techniques
Nerve reconstruction or repair requires surgeons to work under a microscope, but a variety of procedures may be performed according to each unique situation. Grafts may be taken from elsewhere on the body in order to repair damaged nerves, or the procedure may consist mainly of a decompression of nerves.
Dr. Pereira has experience operating on patients suffering from nerve injuries of all types. He brings his breadth of experience to each patient, contributing to his excellent success rate with nerve microsurgery.
Call us or stop by our offices on Anastasia Island for a consultation if you are experiencing symptoms of a nerve injury. We can help you pinpoint the cause of the issue with a proper diagnosis, and get you on the road to recovery by providing you the best options for treatment, including nerve microsurgery performed right here in our office.