Digital nerve-grafting for traumatic defects. Use of the lateral antebrachial cutaneous nerve.

We used segments of the lateral antebrachial cutaneous nerve to graft defects in forty-two digital nerves in thirty-five patients. Age was a more important prognostic indicator for functional sensibility than either the length of the nerve graft or the time-interval from injury to grafting. The younger patients did better. A battery of eight tests was used to determine functional sensibility scores. All patients improved and 40 per cent had completely normal sensibility.