Nerve Transfer Surgery to Improve Arm Movement After Stroke

This trial is testing a surgical procedure called C7 nerve transfer to help people regain arm and hand function after a stroke. The surgery involves transferring a nerve from the healthy side of your neck to reconnect your brain to your weak arm, allowing your unaffected brain hemisphere to help control the paralyzed arm. Researchers want to understand if this procedure works differently depending on whether someone had an ischemic stroke (caused by a blood clot) or a hemorrhagic stroke (caused by bleeding).

Many people continue to experience significant weakness and stiffness in their arm long after stroke recovery, which severely limits their quality of life and ability to use their hand. Current rehabilitation approaches have limitations, so researchers are testing whether this nerve transfer surgery can create a new pathway for the brain to control the paralyzed arm when standard recovery has plateaued.