Secondary ulnar nerve palsy in adults after elbow trauma: a report of two cases

Secondary ulnar nerve palsy, an unusual condition in which the onset of ulnar nerve dysfunction occurs 1 to 3 months after elbow trauma, can be the cause of sudden deterioration of elbow function. Initially recognized in 1899, this condition has not been reported often. We describe 2 patients who had no subjective or objective evidence of ulnar nerve dysfunction after elbow trauma but had a sudden loss of motion, pain, and clinical and electrophysiologic evidence of ulnar nerve compression at the elbow 4 to 5 weeks after trauma. Marked improvement occurred after ulnar nerve subcutaneous transposition and contracture release.