Advanced Peripheral Nerve Surgery for International Patients in India

Peripheral nerve surgery

Peripheral nerve surgery is a surgical specialty specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of injuries, tumors, compressions, and others that affect the peripheral nerves (the network of nerves outside the brain and spinal cord transmitting signals between the central nervous system and the rest of the body).

What Peripheral Nerve Surgery Treats?

Nerve Injuries / Trauma

• Nerve lacerations, tear, or crush.
• Fractures, sharp injuries, or often as a result of accidents.

Compression Syndromes of the Nerves

• Carpal tunnel syndrome (wrist median nerve compression).
• Cubital tunnel syndrome (ulna nerve compression at the elbow).
• Thoracic outlet syndrome (compression of the brachial plexus).

Nerve Tumors & Cysts

• Innocent tumors such as a schwannoma and neurofibromas.
• Tumors of the malignant peripheral nerve sheaths.
• Nerves being impinged by ganglion cysts.

Brachial Plexus Injuries

• Observed in traffic accidents on the roads and injuries in birth.

Chronic Pain Conditions

• Neuromas (painful scar tissue of the nerves).
• Trapped nerves leading to neuropathic pain.

Types of Peripheral Nerve Surgery

• Neurolysis-To dislodge a nerve with scar tissue or compression.
• Nerve Repair- Impregnable suture of severed nerve ends.
• Nerve Grafting - The gaps are bridged with donor nerves (autograft or allograft).
• Nerve Transfer - Transplanting a healthy nerve to the area where it has been damaged.
• Tumor Removal – Microsurgical tumor removal of nerve tumors.
• Decompression Surgery- the removal of the pressure on herniated nerves.
• Neuroma Surgery- The excision or transfer of painful neuroma.

Goals of Surgery

• Regain motor function (movement).
• Recovery of sensory functioning (touch, pain, temperature).
• Relieve pain and numbness.
• Avert total disability.

Recovery & Rehabilitation

• Occupational therapy and physical therapy are important.
• The regeneration of the nerves is slow (approximately 1 mm/day).
• Depending on the location and severity of injuries recovery can take months or years.
• Intervention at an early age is better.

Best peripheral nerve surgery hospitals

• Artemis Hospital, Gurgaon
• Medanta-The Medicity, Gurgaon
• Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurgaon
• Max Hospital, Saket

Factors Affecting Peripheral nerve surgery cost

Following is a clear breakdown of the factors involved in the cost of peripheral nerve surgery:

Type & Complexity of Surgery

• Basic operations (such as carpal tunnel release or neurolysis) are cheaper.
• Surgery involving complex cases (such as brachial plexus repair, nerve grafting, or tumor excision) is more costly because it takes a longer time to operate, is performed using microsurgical procedures, and requires specialized equipment.

Surgeon’s Expertise & Team

• Micro or neurosurgeons who have many years of experience often charge more.
• Costs may be increased due to the presence of a multidisciplinary team (plastic surgeons, neurologists, orthopedists).

Hospital / Facility Charges

• Smaller or regional hospitals are cheaper than tier-1 hospitals (corporate or multispecialty hospitals in the metro cities).
• The cost will depend on whether the hospital is a specialty neurosurgery hospital or not.

Diagnostic & Imaging Tests

• Additional preoperative tests such as MRI, CT scan, nerve conduction studies (NCS), and EMG are costly.
• More complicated nerve injuries are known to necessitate highly sophisticated imaging and various tests.

Surgical Technique Used

• Microsurgery and nerve grafting use expensive equipment and are more expensive.
• Nerve conduits, allografts, or synthetic grafts increase graft material expenses.

Anaesthesia Type + Duration of operation

• Increased anaesthesia and OT cost due to longer surgeries.
• The cost of general anaesthesia is more than the local/regional anaesthesia.

Hospitalization and After Care

• Benign surgeries can be day-care surgeries, which saves money.
• Multifaceted nerve reconstructions can require ICU care and extended inpatient care.
• The costs escalate when physiotherapy or occupational therapy is initiated when admitted in the hospital.

Rehabilitation & Follow-up

• Nerve surgeries normally entail lengthy physiotherapy sessions, splints and frequent check-ups.
• These increase the cost of recovery.

City / Location of Treatment

• Prices are more in metro cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai) than in tier-2 or tier-3 cities.

Peripheral nerve surgery success rate

Surgical success of the peripheral nerve depends on a lot of factors, such as the nature of nerve damage, time of damage, the type of surgery, and the age/general health of the patient. Regarding the bone healing, nerve healing is slow, and when it does occur, it is usually incomplete and thus the result is different.

General Success Rates

Carpal Tunnel Release (median nerve decompression):

• Success rate 80-95% and most patients report relief of numbness, tingling and pain.

Cubital Tunnel Release (ulnar nerve):

• Success 7090, longer time to regain muscle strength.

Peripheral Nerve Repair (direct suture):

• Early (within 36 months of injury) functional recovery in 6080 percent of cases.

Nerve Grafting / Nerve Transfers (when a gap is larger or injury in brachial plexus occurs):

• Variable success, between 50 and 75 percent, depending on gap length, donor nerve employed and rehabilitation.

Brachial Plexus Surgery:

• Recovery of functionality in 40 -70 percent of patients; timing is a key factor (surgery within 6 months).

A peripheral nerve tumor (schwannoma, neurofibroma):

• Excellent response (85–95%) with relief of symptoms, so long as the tumor is able to be excised without significant nerve loss.

Peripheral nerve surgery specialists

Top doctors for peripheral nerve surgery:

• Dr. Aditya Gupta
• Dr. V P Singh
• Dr. Sudhir Dubey
• Dr. Praveen Gupta
• Dr. Arun Saroha
• Dr. Bipin Walia

Peripheral nerve surgery in India with GetWellGo

GetWellGo is regarded as a leading supplier of healthcare services. We help our foreign clients choose the best treatment locations that suit their needs both financially and medically.

We offer:

• Complete transparency
• Fair costs.
• 24 hour availability.
• Medical E-visas
• Online consultation from recognized Indian experts.
• Assistance in selecting India's top hospitals for Peripheral nerve treatment.
• Expert neurosurgeon with a strong track record of success
• Assistance during and after the course of treatment.
• Language Support
• Travel and Accommodation Services
• Case manager assigned to every patient to provide seamless support in and out of the hospital like appointment booking
• Local SIM Cards
• Currency Exchange
• Arranging Patient’s local food