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Ulnar neuropathy: evaluation and management

  • Elbow Soft Tissue Surgery (L Oh, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Ulnar neuropathy is commonly encountered, both acutely after elbow trauma and in the setting of chronic compression neuropathy. Careful clinical evaluation and discerning evaluation of electrodiagnostic studies are helpful in determining the prognosis of recovery with nonoperative and operative management. Appreciation of the subtleties in clinical presentation and thoughtful consideration of the timing and type of surgical intervention are critical to optimizing outcomes after treatment of ulnar neuropathy. The potential need for decompression at both the cubital tunnel and Guyon’s canal must be appreciated. Supplementation of decompression with supercharged end-to-side nerve transfer can expedite motor recovery of the ulnar intrinsic muscles in the appropriately selected patient. The emergence of nerve transfer techniques has also changed the management of acute ulnar nerve injuries.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery – Division of Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, Campus Box 8233, 660 South Euclid Avenue, Saint Louis, MO, 63110, USA

    Christopher J. Dy

  2. Department of Surgery – Division of Public Health Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, Campus Box 8233, 660 South Euclid Avenue, Saint Louis, MO, 63110, USA

    Christopher J. Dy

  3. Department of Surgery – Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, Campus Box 8238, 660 South Euclid Ave., Saint Louis, MO, 63110, USA

    Susan E. Mackinnon

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Correspondence to Susan E. Mackinnon.

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Christopher J. Dy and Susan E. Mackinnon declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Elbow Soft Tissue Surgery

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Dy, C.J., Mackinnon, S.E. Ulnar neuropathy: evaluation and management. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med 9, 178–184 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12178-016-9327-x

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