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• As a result of its proximity to the humeral shaft, as well as its long and tortuous course, the radial nerve is the most frequently injured major nerve in the upper limb, with its close proximity to the bone making it vulnerable when fractures occur.

• Injury is most frequently sustained during humeral fracture and gunshot injuries, but iatrogenic injuries are not unusual following surgical treatment of various other pathologies.

• Treatment is usually non-operative, but surgery is sometimes necessary, using a variety of often imaginative procedures. Because radial nerve injuries are the least debilitating of the upper limb nerve injuries, results are usually satisfactory.

• Conservative treatment certainly has a role, and one of the most important aspects of this treatment is to maintain a full passive range of motion in all the affected joints.

• Surgical treatment is indicated in cases when nerve transection is obvious, as in open injuries or when there is no clinical improvement after a period of conservative treatment. Different techniques are used including direct suture or nerve grafting, vascularised nerve grafts, direct nerve transfer, tendon transfer, functional muscle transfer or the promising, newer treatment of biological therapy.

Cite this article: Bumbasirevic M, Palibrk T, Lesic A, Atkinson HDE. Radial nerve palsy. EFORT Open Rev 2016;1:286-294. DOI: 10.1302/2058-5241.1.000028.

• Amputations have a devastating impact on patients’ health with consequent psychological distress, economic loss, difficult reintegration into society, and often low embodiment of standard prosthetic replacement.

• The main characteristic of bionic limbs is that they establish an interface between the biological residuum and an electronic device, providing not only motor control of prosthesis but also sensitive feedback.

• Bionic limbs can be classified into three main groups, according to the type of the tissue interfaced: nerve-transferred muscle interfacing (targeted muscular reinnervation), direct muscle interfacing and direct nerve interfacing.

• Targeted muscular reinnervation (TMR) involves the transfer of the remaining nerves of the amputated stump to the available muscles.

• With direct muscle interfacing, direct intramuscular implants record muscular contractions which are then wirelessly captured through a coil integrated in the socket to actuate prosthesis movement.

• The third group is the direct interfacing of the residual nerves using implantable electrodes that enable reception of electric signals from the prosthetic sensors. This can improve sensation in the phantom limb.

• The surgical procedure for electrode implantation consists of targeting the proximal nerve area, competently introducing, placing, and fixing the electrodes and cables, while retaining movement of the arm/leg and nerve, and avoiding excessive neural damage.

• Advantages of bionic limbs are: the improvement of sensation, improved reintegration/embodiment of the artificial limb, and better controllability.

Cite this article: EFORT Open Rev 2020;5:65-72. DOI: 10.1302/2058-5241.5.180038