Abstract
Introduction: In all disciplines and subspecialties, all surgeons who are treating complex elbow diseases must be aware of the principles in assessment and treatment of both acute and chronic ulnar neuropathies. Management of chronic compression neuropathy of the ulnar nerve is still considered a complex and a challenging aspect that faces physicians. Appraisal of the literature via systematic reviews and meta-analyses demonstrates that the best management for patients with ulnar neuropathy is still not clear. Understanding of the subtleties in clinical manifestations and thorough consideration of the timing and type of surgical interventions are essential to optimize results following management of ulnar neuropathy. In addition, treatment of acute ulnar nerve injuries has been recently altered following the introduction of advanced nerve transfer techniques.
Aim of work: In this review, we will discuss Ulnar neuropathy at elbow
Methodology: We did a systematic search for Ulnar neuropathy at elbow in the emergency department using PubMed search engine (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) and Google Scholar search engine (https://scholar.google.com). All relevant studies were retrieved and discussed. We only included full articles.
Conclusions: Ulnar neuropathy is a commonly encountered condition, in both in the general population and in the athletes. Thorough clinical assessment and discerning assessment of electrodiagnostic tests are useful in detecting the progression of recovery with non-surgical and surgical modalities of treatment. The possible need for decompression at both the cubital tunnel and Guyon's canal should be well understood. Adherence to the principles of surgical decompression and the pearls which we stated above will help the surgeon in providing a reliable and durable outcome. Supplementation of decompression with supercharged end-to-side nerve transfer could potentially expedite motor recovery of the ulnar intrinsic muscles in the appropriately selected patient.