PDF icon Download PDF
Open Access
CC BY 4.0 · Indian J Plast Surg
DOI: 10.1055/s-0045-1810111
Letter to the Editor

A Simple Test to Detect Deltoid Function

Anil Bhatia
1   Department of Brachial Plexus Surgery, Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital and Research Center, Pune, Maharashtra, India
,
Alex Franco de Carvalho
2   Northeast Center of Plastic and Reconstructive Microsurgery, Brazil
,
Ruy Dantas Silveira Gois Neto
3   Department of Hand and Microvascular Surgery, Federal University of Sergipe, Sergipe, Brazil
› Author Affiliations
› Further Information
Also available ateRefMedOne
  Permissions and Reprints
Preview

Assessment of deltoid reinnervation following brachial plexus injury remains a clinical challenge. Traditional tests, such as the Bertelli abduction-in-internal-rotation test, may yield false-negative results due to compensatory activation of adjacent muscles. Concomitant rotator cuff dysfunction may interfere with testing. Electromyography (EMG) has not proved to be efficient to document early signs of reinnervation of the posterior fibers of the deltoid.

We describe a straightforward clinical test that allows the examiner to isolate and confirm voluntary contraction of the posterior deltoid. This test has been applied consistently over years of clinical follow-up and is applicable in cases of nerve grafting, nerve transfers, or spontaneous reinnervation of the axillary nerve.



Publication History

Article published online:
06 August 2025

© 2025. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
A-12, 2nd Floor, Sector 2, Noida-201301 UP, India