Peripheral nerves travel from your spinal cord or brain to the rest of your body. They do not have the protection of the spinal cord or skull and are susceptible to compression, stretch, or injury. Weakness, numbness, or pain can result from injury to these nerves. Thankfully, recovery and pain improvement are possible with appropriate surgical and non-surgical management.

St. Luke’s has experts from several specialties (plastic surgery, neurosurgery, and orthopedic surgery) with the skills to help you recover from an injury or compression of peripheral nerves. The type of specialist best for your needs will depend on which nerves are injured.

• Neurosurgeon: works with trigeminal nerve
• Plastic and reconstructive surgeon: focuses on the nerves of the head and neck (facial, occipital, frontal, infraorbital, and marginal mandibular nerves); nerves of the breasts, back, and abdomen; surgical procedures related to migraine relief
• Orthopedic surgeon or plastic and reconstructive surgeon:
  • manages nerves from the neck into the shoulder or arm (brachial plexus, spinal accessory, axillary, suprascapular, pectoral, musculocutaneous, radial, median, and ulnar nerves); also focuses on conditions such as carpal tunnel, radial tunnel, pronator syndrome, cubital tunnel, and Guyon's canal
  • works with nerves to the lower extremities (sciatic, femoral, peroneal, and tibial nerves); as well as conditions such as tarsal tunnel and Morton's neuroma