Turkish Neurosurgery 2001 , Vol 11 , Num 1-2
COMPARISON OF SIMPLE DECOMPRESSION AND SUPERFICIAL TRANSPOSITIONINPATIENTSWITHADVANCED CUBITAL TUNNEL SYNDROME
Serhat ERBAYRAKTAR1, Burak SADE1, Bülent TEKİNSOY2, Hakan S. YILMAZ1, E. Metin GÜNER1, Ümit D. ACAR1
1Dokuz Eylül University School of Medicine, Departments of Neurosurgery, İzmir, Türkiye
2Dokuz Eylül University School of Medicine, Departments of Radiology, İzmir, Türkiye
This retrospective study investigated the outcomes of surgical therapy in 14 patients with advanced ulnar neuropathy at the elbow. We evaluated patients clinically and electrophysiologically pre- and postoperatively. The mean follow-up was 43.8 months. The gender distribution in the group indicated that females might be affected more frequently than males (p<0.05). The most common preoperative complaint was pain (n=12; 86%), followed by motor weakness (n=l1; 79%) and paresthesia (n=8; 57%). All patients exhibited varying degrees of muscle atrophy and motor deficits, and 10 individuals (71 %) had sensory deficits. Electrophysiological testing demonstrated denervation potentials and slowing of motor and/or sensory nerve conduction in all cases. Simple decompression and superficial transposition techniques were performed in six and eight patients, respectively. Neurological status improved markedly after surgery, and long-term postoperative results were good or very good in 71 % of the patients. However, there was no significant difference between the therapeutic effects of the two techniques in this patient group (p>0.05). Keywords : Cubital tunnel, surgical management, ulnar neuropathy
Corresponding author : Serhat Erbayraktar, serbayrakta@hotmail.com