Abstract
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Dear Sir,
Testing following repaired peripheral nerve injuries is constantly under debate. Presently the most used tests for sensory recovery are moving 2-PD and the monofilaments (Semmes Weinstein). We have conducted tests with both methods and realise the shortcomings of both. We have not used pressure measurements with the moving 2-PD test. I agree that pressure is difficult to maintain at the same level with the Discriminator. Therefore, we have used the monofilaments which are more objective than the Discriminator, but test a different level of return of sensory recovery (one static point recovery as opposed to two moving point recovery). The palmar abduction strength test which we used as a motor recovery test in distal median nerve lesion clearly showed lower values than in controls. This strength recovers gradually as the median nerve heals, but never returns to normal. This indicates that this test can be extrapolated to the reinnervation of the abductor pollicies brevis. The EMG could substantiate this measurement by testing the abductor pollices brevis electrographically. The authors would like to thank J.H. Coert and M. Meek for their stimulating comments.