Turkish Neurosurgery
2008 , Vol 18 , Num 2
Delayed Radial Nerve Palsy Due to Entrapment of the Nerve in the Callus of a Distal Third Humerus Fracture
Eskisehir Osmangazi University, School of Medicine, Neurosurgery Department Eskisehir-Turkey
A 45-year-old male patient was referred for management of radial nerve palsy.
His past medical history revealed that he had been injured in a car accident and
broken his left humerus 4 months ago. Primary stabilization of the fracture has
been achieved by the application of a long-arm plaster cast. His medical reports
displayed that he had experienced no clinical signs of radial nerve palsy at that
time. After the cast was removed, he noticed that he could not extend his wrist.
Surgical exploration revealed that the radial nerve was encased inside the callus.
He had probably not realized the weakness of wrist extension earlier due to the
structure of the long-arm plaster cast that totally encased the arm, wrist and hand.
In the light of the presented case, we recommend not using a long-arm plaster
cast in stabilization of the distal third humeral shaft fractures in order to diagnose
this kind of a complication earlier.
Keywords :
Radial nerve, Palsy, Humerus fracture, Callus, Entrapment