Recruiting

Nerve Transfer Surgery

Sponsor:

University of British Columbia

Code:

NCT05638191

Conditions

Spinal Cord Injury

Spinal Cord Injury at C5-C7 Level

SCI - Spinal Cord Injury

Upper Extremity Paralysis

Upper Extremity Dysfunction

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 70

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Nerve transfer surgery

Study Details

Brief summary:

The goal of this prospective, open-label cohort study is to assess functional outcomes in individuals with cervical spinal cord injury who have undergone nerve transfer surgery to restore upper limb function. The main questions it aims to answer are:

  • Does nerve transfer improve hand function in individuals with cervical spinal cord injury?
  • What factors are associated with functional improvement following nerve transfer? Researchers will compare functional outcomes at 24 months post-surgery to 1) baseline outcomes and 2) individuals with cervical spinal cord injury who did not undergo nerve transfer.

Participants who have received nerve transfer surgery as part of their regular medical care will complete functional hand tests, electrodiagnostic assessments, and questionnaires on independence and mood every 3 months for 24 months after surgery.

Conditions

Spinal Cord Injury

Spinal Cord Injury at C5-C7 Level

SCI - Spinal Cord Injury

Upper Extremity Paralysis

Upper Extremity Dysfunction

Study ID

NCT05638191

Start date

Jun 3, 2021

Status verified date

May, 2026

Completion date

Jan, 2028

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Jan, 2028

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 70

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Traumatic, motor-complete cervical SCI (AIS A or B)
  • Male or female, ages 18-70
  • Consent and plan to undergo nerve transfer to restore grasp function in at least one limb
  • Motor grade 4-5 at C5
  • Motor grade 0-1 at C8/T1
  • Injury duration within 6 months at the time of surgery
  • English-speaking and cognitively intact
  • Able to provide informed written consent
  • Able to attend and comply with the testing protocols

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Inability or unwillingness to participate in post-operative rehabilitation (in person or virtual)
  • Secondary complication of SCI (e.g., intractable neuropathic pain, edema, contracture) or major medical comorbidity (e.g., traumatic brain injury) that would independently influence response to surgery or ability to participate in rehabilitation

Study Design

Enrollment

40 participants

Anticipated

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

Experimental: Surgical Arm

Individuals in this group will receive nerve transfer surgery 6 - 9 months post cervical spine injury and be observed for two years post-operatively.

Control: Non-surgical

Historical control data will be drawn from a published multi-center longitudinal trial that assessed outcomes in individuals with acute traumatic cervical SCI within ten days of injury (baseline), and again at one, three, six, and 12 months post-injury (PMID: 35652348). The general inclusion criteria for this study was traumatic tetraplegia, at least 1/5 strength in the C5 myotome, age 16 years or older, and the ability to provide informed consent. Exclusion criteria included brain injury or other neurological impairments affecting upper limb function. Participants in the surgical cohort will be matched 1:1 with historical controls based on age, sex, and injury characteristics (i.e., NLI and AIS grade).

Interventions

Nerve transfer surgery

The intervention in this study, which follows our clinical approach, is the "double nerve transfer" to restore grasp function (i.e., hand opening and hand closing). Finger and thumb extension (hand opening) is restored via the supinator-posterior interosseous nerve (PIN) transfer. Finger and thumb flexion (hand closing) is restored via a nerve transfer to the anterior interosseous nerve (AIN). There are two donor nerve options available to restore function to the muscles supplied by the AIN: the nerve to the brachialis and the nerve to the extensor carpi radialis longus (ECRL) or extensor carpi radialis brevis (ECRB).

Primary outcome measure

  • GRASSP (within-participant) [ Time Frame: Baseline then every 3 months for 2 years ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Michael Berger, MD, PhD

778-990-7615michael.berger@vch.ca

Locations

GF Strong Rehabilitation Hospital

Recruiting

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V5Z 2G9

Contacts

Harvey Wu, MD

harvey.wu@ubc.ca

Principal Investigator:

Michael Berger, MD, PhD

QEII Health Sciences Centre

Recruiting

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, B3H 3A7

Principal Investigator:

Emily Krauss, MD, MSc

Kingston Health Sciences Centre

Recruiting

Kingston, Ontario, Canada, K7L 5G2

Principal Investigator:

Michael Hendry, MD, MSc

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Recruiting

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M4N 3M5

Principal Investigator:

Jana Dengler, MD, MASc

More Information

Sponsor

University of British Columbia

Last update posted

May 29, 2026

Last verified

May, 2026

Keywords

  • spinal cord injury
  • upper extremity nerve transfer
  • nerve transfer
  • SCI
  • nerve reconstruction
  • quadriplegia
  • paresis

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of British Columbia on 2026-05-29.