Information for New Patients

The Scottish National Brachial Plexus Injury Service (SNBPIS) provides specialist care on behalf of NHS Scotland.

If you have a brachial plexus injury requiring specialist intervention your doctor or surgeon can send you from your local NHS Board to our national service for treatment (see information on Travel Expenses on our Information for Patients page) .

We are the primary national service providing specialist treatment for brachial plexus injury in Scotland. Our highly experienced teams will make sure you receive the best possible care and rehabilitation.

Aims of the Service

The SNBPIS provides an integrated multidisciplinary service for obstetric brachial plexus injury (OBPI/Erb's palsy), traumatic brachial plexus injury (TBPI) and tumours involving the brachial plexus.

Target Patient Group

The Adult Service accepts referral of patients with injury to the brachial plexus defined as: nerves and branches of the brachial plexus that lie between the spinal cord and the level of the mid-humerus.

Children with obstetric brachial plexus injury (OBPI/Erb's palsy) are the main group managed by the Children's Service. Children with traumatic brachial plexus injury or tumours involving the brachial plexus are also seen.

Target Referral Areas

Patients are referred from throughout Scotland usually by orthopaedic trauma surgeons or plastic surgeons who have carried out initial assessment. Referrals are also accepted from Northern Ireland and the north of England.

Tumour Referrals

Cases of benign or malignant tumours involving or arising from the brachial plexus are also seen and are typically referred by neurologists, orthopaedic surgeons, plastic surgeons and regional sarcoma MDTs.

Stages of Treatment

Brachial Plexus treatment can normally be broken down into three stages:-

• Diagnosis: clinical examination, MRI scans, ultrasound, neurophysiology (electrical) tests.
• Surgery: early surgical exploration and nerve repair; late secondary reconstruction.
• Rehabilitation: multidisciplinary team approach involving Clinical Nurse Specialist (Adult Service only), Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Orthotics and Psychology (Children's Service only).