nerve damage after surgery

[greycows40]

i am a c7 quad. after several years of severe spasms and pain i had a 2 syrinx drained. 1 above c7 and below t1.
after 25 years i had become by the most part independant. now my concern.......upon waking up after surgery i had lost 90% of funtion in my right hand (this used to be my good hand) and severe weakness in r tricep. i am now dependant on my wife at all times. ( cathing,trasfers,cutting food.................)surgery was 3 weeks ago. MD explains it could be damaged nerves from surgery. he could not say if its internal or external spinal cord. i had emg today no results yet.
Someone please ease my mind and explain if possible what are my chances of regaining use of my hand and my independance.MD will not commit to any answers.

[greycows40]

thanks for info.
my disability occured in military so all cost should be covered through VA. But all reserch i can obtain is a benifit to me. not all concerns of our Veterans are dealt with as I think it should be. So in other words, the more informed I am, the more treatment or answers I may be able to obtain. Our VA system is really overburdened.
Thank you again

[abhijeet v ghosh]

If money is not a constrain for you, then you should straightway go for MRI. It will give us a good, clear picture.
Yes C-7 sensation intact is a good point.
regards
abhijeet

[greycows40]

Thank you abhijeet,
No MRI has been done since surgery. Should I request one? Will this show peripheral nerve injury. Also my sesation level (c7) did not change after surgery. I hope this is a good sign.
have a good day

[abhijeet v ghosh]

hello greycows40,
you are a strong person my dear friend. We really can't quantify the chances of regaining your hand usage powers. Reason is that we don't know what went wrong in the surgery. If it's a damage to spinal cord, then i am afraid, very less chance for improvement. However, if it's a peripheral nerve injury(not cutting of nerve), then you may improve till 12-18 months of surgery.
How much amount of improvement or how fast you will improve, that i can;t predict.

Did they do any MRI scan after the surgery when it was discovered that your hand powers were lost?

Please keep us informed,
regards
abhijeet