The Elbow

Literature

J Bone Joint Surg [Am] 1981 Jul;63(6):885-90

The pronator teres syndrome: compressive neuropathy of the median nerve.

Hartz CR, Linscheid RL, Gramse RR, Daube JR

Thirty-nine patients with a clinical diagnosis of the pronator teres syndrome were seen during a seven-year period. They typically complained of aching discomfort in the forearm, weakness in the hand, and numbness in the thumb and index finger. Cyclic stress usually brought on the symptoms. The distinctive physical finding was tenderness over the proximal part of the pronator teres, which was aggravated by resisted pronation of the forearm, flexion of the elbow, and occasionally by resisted contraction of the flexor superficialis of the long finger. Electrophysiological testing of the median nerve showed abnormalities in a few patients, but localization of the abnormality was possible only rarely. Intraoperative recordings showed some improvement shortly after release of the median nerve in six of the ten forearms that were tested. Surgical exploration of thirty-six forearms in thirty-two patients showed intramuscular tendinous bands in the pronator, indentation of the muscle belly of the flexor superficialis in most forearms. Vascular and muscular abnormalities were seen occasionally. Of the thirty-six operations, twenty-eight gave good or excellent results; five, fair; and in three patients the symptoms were unchanged. The cause of failure was either inadequate decompression or misdiagnosis.

J Hand Surg [Am] 1994 Jan;19(1):121-6

Median nerve compression in the proximal forearm.

Olehnik WK, Manske PR, Szerzinski J

Division of Orthopedic Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110.

Thirty-nine limbs in 36 patients underwent surgical decompression of the median nerve in the proximal forearm. Seventeen patients with 19 limbs had prior ipsilateral carpal tunnel releases, and 24 had workers' compensation claims related to heavy labor or repetitive tasks. The most common presenting complaints were paresthesias/numbness in the distribution of the median nerve and pain in the forearm or hand. The most common physical finding was a positive pronator compression test, followed by median nerve hypesthesia. Elbow to wrist nerve conduction tests were obtained in 37 of 39 limbs and were abnormal in 12. Intraoperatively, the nerve was compressed at the flexor digitorum superficialis tendon in 22 limbs, pronator teres in 13 limbs, and both in 4 limbs. Postoperatively, 30 limbs had complete or partial relief of symptoms; in a sub-group of 19 limbs that had a prior failed carpal tunnel release, 14 had complete or partial relief. although there was a trend toward better results in patients with normal

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