Factors influencing return to work.

Seventy-seven patients with severe brachial plexus injuries were interviewed two or more years later to determine their success in returning to work and the factors that had led to good or bad resettlement. For most of them these were crucial issues potentially influencing the rest of their lives. When interviewed virtually all had regular jobs in open industry, but many had endured long delays and most were working entirely one-handed. Failure of communication was regrettably common. Too often advice by doctors had been lacking, and there was evidence that the services for vocational resettlement could be improved.